One of the Boys
by Cocacoriola
Summary: Rose is tired of being one of the boys. When being more girly catches Scorpius's attention, more problems ensue. Their relationship doesn't have a good outlook. Slightly based on the Katy Perry song. R&R, please! Currently on hold. I'll get back to it when I have more inspiration.
1. Rose Isn't Girly

**A/N: I know I haven't been updating Wanna Make a Bet, but I'm kind of stuck on that right now... However, I recently (and basically) fell in love with Rose and Scorpius, and this story idea kind of hit me in the head like a bag of bricks. So I decided to write it. :)**

**Originally, I had wanted to do a story from Scorpius' point of view. I suppose I could do that here, but it would be a lot harder for me to write. Maybe I'll switch off. Who knows?**

**One of the Boys**

**Chapter One – Rose Isn't Girly**

"Who's ready for Quidditch?" James Potter called out, a bright red dodge ball wedged between his arm and side. He grinned as the joint Potter-Weasley family kids came running. The family was having yet another get-together, the last day of summer before Hogwarts started again. James would be taking his final year at Hogwarts, he and his cousin Fred now the eldest of the school-age group. Rose, Hugo, Albus, Lily, Lucy, and Roxanne were also still attending Hogwarts.

The rest of their cousins, Victoire, Dominique, Louis, Molly, and Teddy, had already graduated. These cousins weren't hanging around for a game of Quidditch anymore. A few of them had gotten time off for the "picnic" they were having that day, but others, like Teddy and Louis, hadn't been able to get away from work. The only person amongst these people that wasn't family was a tall, blond boy who had followed Albus and Rose out to the garden.

"Alright," James said as his cousins and siblings lined up. "I'll take Hugo, Roxanne, and Lily. Albus, you can have Rose, Lucy, and Scorpius."

"Great!" Rose exclaimed. "We'll kick your butts." Her hands went up, pulling her hair back into a tight ponytail.

"In your dreams," James snorted. They all grabbed their brooms, and the game began. Because there were no bludgers, and no odd person out, they didn't play with beaters or a seeker. Normally, if there was an odd number of people, one person was picked to be a "snitch". In this case, they played with two keepers and six chasers. The team to score the most goals in twenty minutes was to be the winner.

They'd only been playing for a few minutes when a familiar voice interrupted. "Have room for one more?"

Rose brought her broom to a screeching halt, dropping the "quaffle" by mistake. "Teddy!" she said, her voice gleeful like a child on Christmas morning. Though they weren't actually blood related, Teddy was her favorite relative. He was just so easy to talk to, and a lot of fun to be around. Realizing her mistake, Rose looked around for the ball. Luckily, Scorpius had caught it when it slipped from her hands.

"Mind if I join you?" the 24-year-old asked.

"Sure," Lucy said. "You can be the snitch."

"James, give him your broom," Lily commanded.

Grumbling slightly, James touched down on the ground, handed Teddy his broom, and went to get another. Whenever they played with a "snitch", the snitch got the fastest broomstick. Which, in this case, happened to be James'. When her cousin came back, the game began again, and Scorpius threw Rose the Quaffle. She caught it skillfully, pulled her arm back, and threw it at James as hard as she could.

Luckily, he'd been distracted by something and the ball went through the hoop. "Whoo! Go Rose," Albus called.

"Good job, Rosie," Scorpius. Rose grinned as she high-fived her best friend, following him back to their side to get the Quaffle again. Lily had scooped it up and had bypassed Lucy. She was getting ready to throw it at Albus when Scorpius skillfully snatched it out of her hand. He threw it to the other side of the field, but Hugo was ready for it. He caught it and kicked it back to Lily. Lucy was determined to stop it this time, and swerved in front of Lily at the last minute. She caught it and tossed it to Rose, who threw it to Scorpius. This time, the blond succeeded in scoring.

"Lucy, you be the seeker," Albus told his younger cousin. She was the Gryffindor seeker at school, and was very good at it. James had decided to put Hugo out as his seeker. Lucy was really the only practiced seeker they had. Rose played for the Ravenclaw team as a chaser. Albus was the Slytherin Keeper, and Scorpius was a Slytherin Chaser. James was a Chaser and Hugo and Lily the Beaters for the Gryffindor team. Roxanne didn't play on a house team, but willingly played back-yard Quidditch with her cousins when they needed her.

Lucy and Hugo raced off in the direction Teddy had been sitting only seconds before. The game lasted another twenty minutes, before Lucy finally managed to tag Teddy. Rose, Scorpius, and Albus cheered loudly, still immature enough at sixteen to rub their win in the other team's face. "Just imagine if we were all on the same house team," Scorpius said, hinting for millionth time that he wished his best friend had been sorted into Slytherin like him and Albus.

"You just don't like it when Ravenclaw creams you," Rose teased, giving Scorpius and Albus both hugs. They were her two best friends, and had been since day one. At least, Albus had. Having known each other their entire lives, they had clung to one another when entering the mysterious world of Hogwarts. Albus and Scorpius had become friends quickly, but it had taken Rose a while to warm up to the seemingly-cold Slytherin boy. Once she'd gotten past his icy front, she'd discovered a warm, cheerful person that she could be friends with.

"Lunch!" Ginny Potter called from the kitchen. She and Hermione Weasley had spent the morning helping Molly Weasley I prepare lunch for everyone. The school-age kids went running, with Teddy following close behind. As their family had grown, Nana Molly and Grandpa Arthur had expanded the downstairs part of their home to include a much large kitchen. Already seated around the long, worn table was Bill and Fleur, Dominique, Louis, Fred II, and Molly II.

"Where's Victoire?" Lily asked, looking around the kitchen.

James nudged her, hard. "Ix-nay on the ictoire-vay."

"What?" Lily asked incredulously, rubbing her side. She gave James a reproachful look. Teddy sat down at the table, a slightly sad look on his face.

"Teddy and Victoire got in a fight yesterday," James whispered.

"I'm not surprised," Rose replied. Her cousin Victoire and Teddy had been married the year before, and everyone knew that all couples fought. She'd been surprised they'd lasted so long without getting into it. The kids began to seat themselves. Albus and Scorpius sat down beside each other one side of the table, and Rose across from them so they could talk more easily.

When lunch was over, Scorpius got up to leave. Albus and Rose followed him into the living room, where the fireplace was, protesting the whole way. "You can stay longer."

"Dad's been complaining that I spend too much time here," Scorpius said. "He wants me home tonight. I'll see you two in morning." He flashed one of his famous grins, clapped Albus on the shoulder, and gave Rose a tight squeeze. Albus went back to the kitchen for more food, leaving Rose and Scorpius to chat before Scorpius _really_ had to leave.

"Good job out there, by the way."

"You said that already," Rose said with a smile.

"You know what, Rose? It's awesome that you're not such a... girl."

"Gee, thanks," Rose snorted.

"Oh you know what I mean. I like that you're not all girly like your cousins," Scorpius said.

"Lily and Lucy play Quidditch with us," Rose pointed out.

"But they're into clothes and makeup," Scorpius replied, "And I'm just glad you're not like that."

"Thanks... I think," Rose said.

"It's a compliment, I promise. You're one of the boys, you know?"

"In your own twisted way, I guess it is," Rose teased. "I guess you'd better get going."

"I should," Scorpius said. "See you tomorrow." He gave her another tight hug, grabbed a handful of floo powder, and disappeared in a roar of green flames.

…

Rose had a hard time falling asleep that night. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Scorpius Malfoy, her best friend. The truth was that Rose had had a small crush on him since their third year. Who wouldn't? Scorpius was definitely the fittest boy in the school. It was hard to ignore his good looks and charms when she was his best friend. Over the years, the crush had grown slightly larger, but Rose was able to act as though everything were completely normal. No way was she ruining such a friendship.

At school, Scorpius was known for his hook-ups. He was adamant in his protests that he'd never actually had sex with any of them, and Rose believed him. But he went far enough and with enough girls that he was known as a player. And a heart-breaker.

But what was bothering Rose now was what Scorpius had said earlier. She was one of the boys. He looked at her like that. Just his best mate. He'd never see anything but his best friend Rose, a tom-boyish girl he'd made friends with at the age of 11. And that thought upset Rose more than it should.

…

Rose, Albus, Hugo, Lily, Lucy, James, and Fred had all stayed the night with Nana Molly and Grandpa Arther, so Rose's cousins were right down the hall. It was around three o'clock in the morning, and Rose still couldn't get to sleep. She tossed and turned, and couldn't keep Scorpius out of her mind. The more she thought about it, the more desperate she became. Finally, she slid out of bed, careful not to wake Roxanne, and went down the hall to the room and that Lily and Lucy were sharing.

She slipped into the room as silently as she could and shook Lily's shoulder. "Lily!" she hissed.

"Huh?" Lily asked sleepily. "What?"

"I'm really sorry, but I need some help."

"Come back when it's light," Lily mumbled.

"But it could take a while," Rose answered, biting her lip.

"What is it?" Lily asked crossly, sitting up a little.

"Well, you see, it's about Scorpius," Rose started, feeling extremely embarrassed. She'd never admitted to anyone that she had feelings for her best friend.

"Are you waking me up at 3 o'clock in the morning to tell me that you have a crush on Scorpius?" Lily asked, "Because I already know."

"Wait, what?"

"Well, it's kind of obvious. To me, at least."

"Me too," Lucy piped up. She sat up in bed and shrugged apologetically. "You woke me up when you came in."

"But I-" Rose spluttered.

"Look, I doubt anyone else knows. It's just because we're you're family, we've watched you function for fourteen years. We know how you are," Lily explained. "Now what is it you want?"

Rose quickly told her cousin about the exchange with Scorpius the previous afternoon and how much it had bothered her. "Well, I know just how to fix that," Lily said with a bit of an evil smile on her face. "We're going to have to give you a complete make-over."

"Can I help?" Lucy asked.

"The more the merrier," Lily said, throwing back her blankets. "Now, let's get to work."

…

The following morning, the Weasleys were in for a surprise. Lily and Lucy had wanted to change Rose's look dramatically, but she hadn't let them. Her normally scraggly red hair, always pulled back in a ponytail, was straight, glossy, and seemed to be on fire when she moved. Her brown eyes were brighter and more vivid from the eyeliner Lily had painstakingly drawn on. Instead of her usual combination of baggy jeans and t-shirts, she wore form-fitting jeans, a white, long-sleeve shirt, and a blue argyle tank top.

"You look the same," Lily complained. "Just kind of dressed up."

Rose, on the other hand, disagreed. She'd never looked so pretty, and had stared at the mirror in awe for several minutes. She was so used to having her hair pulled back and t-shirts big enough to hide herself in. Now she looked like someone worth looking at. Someone Scorpius might pay attention to. When she, Lily, and Lucy made their appearance in the kitchen, Albus was beside himself. "What have they done to you?" he asked Rose, looking appalled.

"Do I look that bad?" Rose asked quietly.

"You look ridiculous, you should sue," he replied.

"Oh shut up," Lily snapped. "You're just jealous that she's better looking than you now."

"Right," Albus snorted sarcastically.

"Albus Potter," Nana Molly scolded. "You're hurting your cousin's feelings."

"She doesn't care," Albus said. But Rose did care, sort of. If Albus thought she looked stupid all girled up, how was Scorpius going to react? Maybe she should go upstairs and change... Lily caught her arm before she could make her way back to the stairs, as though she could read her cousin's mind. "Don't you dare," the younger girl said threateningly.

So Rose kept her outfit, and sat down to breakfast with her family. When her parents and Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny arrived, she squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. Ginny complimented her kindly, and Harry made a comment about how she was growing up. The usual. Her father looked almost as uncomfortable as she felt, but her mother gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and whispered, "You look beautiful, Rosie."

"Oh, would you look at the time!" Nana Molly exclaimed. "You lot had best be on your way, or you'll miss the train."

The group jumped up from the table and went upstairs to collect their trunks. "I think you look really nice, Rose," Roxanne said, giving her a smile. "I'll have to ask Lily and Lucy to give _me_ a makeover sometime."

"But you're already so pretty," Rose said in surprise.

"Not enough to get the attention I want," she said ruefully. She grabbed her trunk and went back downstairs.

_We'll have to help her out, too_, Rose thought. She opened her trunk and quickly did a mental check to make sure she had everything. She clicked the lid shut and went downstairs to meet her family. They crowded into Uncle Harry's car and were off to Platform 9 ¾. They arrived at 10:36, just enough time to get through the barrier, say their goodbyes, and find places to sit in the compartments.

"Bye Mum, bye Dad!" Rose said, kissing her parents on the cheek. "I'll write as soon as we get settled."

"Look after your brother," Hermione reminded her. "I don't know how he got to be such a trouble maker." From the look she was giving Ron, she knew _exactly_ where their son got his rebellious streak.

"I'll make sure he doesn't do anything too stupid," Rose promised. She gave them each a hug, and then climbed onto the train. Albus had already boarded to find Scorpius, and she assumed they were together, so she set off to find them. She finally located them in a compartment near the rear of the train, laughing at something she'd miss. "Is this seat taken?" she asked as she opened the door.

"As a matter of fact it is. Take a number, and we'll-" Scorpius' voice trailed off when he looked up at Rose. "Whoa."

"What?" she asked nervously.

"You look... Different."

"Is different okay?"

"Hey, different is... Great," Scorpius said, a smile forming on his face.

Rose flushed with pleasure and put her trunk in the rack above the seat. She was deciding whether to take a seat beside Albus or Scorpius when the compartment door opened again and a pretty young girl entered. "Hi Rose," she said, turning a little red at the sight of Albus and Scorpius. "Everywhere else is full... Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Not at all, Julie," Rose said, plopping down next to Scorpius. Julie had never confirmed it, but Rose always had the suspicion that the girl had a crush on her cousin, Albus.

The conversation was slow and awkward at first, but once Julie became more comfortable it was a very pleasant train ride. They joked, played games, slept, and finally arrived at Hogwarts. "Bloody hell, I'm starving," Scorpius said, stepping out onto the platform.

"You're always hungry," Rose teased.

"I'm a growing boy, I need my food," he answered.

"If you eat much more, you'll be growing horizontally instead of vertically."

"Are you trying to say I'm fat?" he demanded playfully.

"If I could only find a nice way to say it," Rose pretended to think.

"You're cruel," he said, grinning. He reached over and poked her in the side. She let out a yelp, then quickly covered her mouth as people turned to stare. She glared at Scorpius, hating the fact that she was so ticklish. "Cheers, love," he said in answer to her look. "Race you to the carriages!"

**A/N: Decided to end it there, because I feel like 96% of the stories I write end with them going to sleep after the feast. So I'm doing something a little different. **

**Anyways, please let me know what you think! Reviews are greatly appreciated.**

**I snuck two quotes in there, kudos to anyone who can get them. The first one is one line, the other quote is four lines, a sort of back and forth between Rose and Scorp. :P Guess correctly and I shall give you a little walk-in scene sometime. Hahaha. **

**Again, please review!**

**Love,**

**This Author Person-Face**


	2. Prince of the Party Games

**A/N: Eek, thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciate them, guys. :) They made me super happy. Shoutouts to Loving Your Smile (Ali) and Alyssa for their reviews. They basically made my life. **

**And sorry it's taken so long to update! I had to update my other story, and then I kept getting stuck on this chapter.**

**One of the Boys**

**Chapter Two – Prince of the Party Games**

After the Great War, it had become accepted, and even encouraged, to mingle with the other Houses. An Inter-House common room was built for students of all four Houses to spend time in. It wasn't unusual to see a Hufflepuff at the Gryffindor table, or even a Gryffindor at the Slytherin table. There was still rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin, but it had been toned down quite a bit. Even enough for a few members of each house to make friends with one another. It was much easier, however, for Gryffindor to make friends with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. The same went for Slytherin.

Though it was acceptable for students to switch tables during meals, it was customary to sit with your House during the Welcome Back feast, and the end of the year feast. This meant Rose was stuck at the Ravenclaw table, virtually alone. Her two best friends were together at the Slytherin Table, and the rest of her cousins were at the Gryffindor table. Rose gave a huffy sigh as she dug into her meal. This was one of the few times she minded being a Ravenclaw.

When dinner was finished, Rose said goodnight to her cousins and Scorpius, and followed her fellow Ravenclaws up to their tower. On the walk up there, a pretty brunette girl hung back and waited for Rose. "Hey," she said in greeting. "How were your holidays?"

"Hi Ana," Rose said. "They were fine. Lots of Quidditch. How about you?"

"Mum and Dad took me to Paris," she sighed happily. Ana Selwin came from a long line of purebloods, and was naturally very rich. "I met a boy there. He was sweet, but nothing compared to James."

Rose made a face. She still didn't understand how anyone could have a thing for her cousin. Especially James. He was just so... Ergh. Ana and James had been overly (and disgustingly) flirtatious for a while, but they still weren't an official couple. Rose wished they'd do it and just get it over with. She listened to Ana unconsciously brag about her summer in Paris. Ana was actually a very nice person, but didn't really think before she said things. She tended to brag a lot, without really knowing it. Luckily, Ana was in the year ahead of Rose, so they didn't share a dorm. When they reached the Ravenclaw tower, Rose said goodnight and went into her dormitory.

No one could blame Rose's roommates for not saying much to her when she entered. She'd never tried to be overly friendly with them over the years, and they'd stopped trying a few months into first year. She changed silently into her favorite pair of pajamas and crawled into bed. As she had the night before, Rose fell asleep thinking about Scorpius. But this time, butterflies were fluttering happily in her stomach as she imagined the smile on his face.

…

The only girl in her dormitory that Rose really interacted with was Becky Carmichael, a soft-spoken blonde girl. And the only real interaction they had was when Becky shook Rose awake in the morning before leaving for breakfast. First year, Rose had been late to class one too many times, and had gotten a serious threat from Professor McGonagall. Becky had started waking Rose up in time to get dressed and have breakfast. Rose had never come up with a good way to thank Becky for it, but she was grateful. It was tough, being the late-sleeper she was, to get to class on time. Or it would have been, without Becky's help.

Rose threw her pajamas on her unmade bed and adjusted her uniform. It looked almost normal. The only thing that bothered Rose was her skirt. Lily had adjusted it using magic to make it shorter, like most of the girls did. Rose tugged at it, feeling uncomfortable, but it did nothing. She sighed. She'd just have to get use to it. She ran a brush through her auburn hair, still as stick-straight and glossy as it had been the day before. She applied what little makeup she had been willing to take from Lily, grabbed her school bag, and went down to the Great Hall.

"Morning," she said as she sat down beside Scorpius. He and Albus gave her wary looks.

"What are you so cheerful about?" Albus asked, staring.

"If I remember correctly, you're not a morning person," Scorpius added.

"I'm not sure," Rose said, shrugging. "I just feel... Happy."

"Whatever you're on, give me some," Albus said.

"Shut up," Rose said, reaching over the table to smack him on the arm while Scorpius laughed.

"Looking forward to classes?" Scorpius asked.

"Not really," Rose said. "McGonagall is _still _teaching?"

"Looks like it. Old woman just won't quit, will she?"

"Not until she dies," Albus replied. "She's going to shrivel into dust before she gives up on Transfiguration."

Their conversation died as they focused on eating. By the time they had all finished, it was almost time for class to start. "What do you have first?" Rose asked, looking down at her schedule.

"Ancient Runes," Albus announces. It'd been his dream since fourth year to be a wizard historian, and Ancient Runes had always been his favorite subject.

Scorpius and Rose exchanged looks. "Divination," they said together. They hadn't given the class up because they both found it such a laugh and stress-relief. Professor Trelawney was just too crazy. She got crazier with age, too. Rose stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Coming?" she asked Scorpius.

"Right behind you," Scorpius replied. "See you in Charms," he added to Albus.

In the hallway, Scorpius threw his arm over Rose's shoulder like he'd done so many times before. The butterflies in her stomach went crazy, but she pretended nothing was different. "Trying out for the Quidditch team?" he asked.

"Duh," Rose said, nudging him in the stomach. "Tryouts are tomorrow."

"Us too," Scorpius said. "During lunch."

"Dinner," Rose replied. She'd be able to eat afterwards, but Scorpius was going to have to skip lunch. Everyone who wanted to try out for the Slytherin team would have to. The day after, Hufflepuff would have tryouts during lunch, and Gryffindor during dinner. This was done so teams were formed as soon as possible, while not having to excuse students from class. When the two of them reached the platform beneath the Divination classroom, they were not surprised to find that their classmates were few.

Rose _was_ surprised, however, to see Becky standing there. Funnily enough, she couldn't remember Becky being in any of her Divination classes before. On the other hand, Rose was not the most observant person when she was with Scorpius. Unless she was concentrating on it. But when Scorpius was around, he was the only thing she wanted to concentrate on.

The other students were a seventh year Hufflepuff, Serena Boyd, two Ravenclaws, Katie Mullen and Angelina Thompson, and a Gryffindor, Darren Clark. Rose and Scorpius joined them, and they waited in awkward silence for the trap door above them to open and the ladder to descend. When it finally did, Rose scrambled up first, followed by Scorpius and the rest of the class. Professor Trelawney was waiting for them, her eyes as big as dinner plates from the spectacles she was wearing.

"Good morning class," she droned. "Please, take your seats." She motioned to the pillows that surrounded the tables. Scorpius and Rose dropped onto the pillows opposite each other and took out their Divination books. The two other Ravenclaws paired up, leaving the Hufflepuff, Serena, with the Gryffindor boy. "Today, we're going to start off with some review. We're going to be analyzing each other's dreams. To do this, I'm going to let you all sleep for about half an hour, and when you wake up, you'll discuss."

Scorpius looked at Rose. They both rolled their eyes, but obediently stretched out on the floor. Rose closed her eyes, and suddenly became sleepier. She had the feeling that Trelawney had cast a charm to get them to sleep. She would lift it when their half hour was up. In a few short minutes, Rose's breathing became slow and even. For a while, she didn't dream anything. She slept peacefully.

But soon the darkness began to fill with color, and Rose was dreaming.

_Clouds surrounded her, and she realized she was flying. Looking down, she saw that she was on her trusty broomstick. The clouds were like puffy white pillows, and she wanted to curl up on one to feel the comfort of the cotton-like substance. When she turned around, Scorpius was there. He looked amazing, his blond hair perfectly in place. His crystal blue eyes were focused on Rose. Suddenly, her broom broke in half beneath her, and she was falling._

_Rose let out a shriek and flapped her arms wildly. Before she had fallen more than ten feet, though, Scorpius caught her. He lifted her up, and she swung onto the broom behind him. "Thanks," she managed, looking down. The ground was almost invisible, they were up so high. "Are you sure this is safe?" she asked Scorpius, her arms wrapping around his waist. She was almost positive that they should be unable to breathe this high up._

"_We'll be fine," Scorpius said, glancing back at her. He smiled, making her insides melt. The flew for a while, then Scorpius angled them down towards a great, puffy cloud. Instead of going right through, like they should have, Rose and Scorpius touched down on the cloud as if it were solid. It was like a giant pillow, Rose thought, testing the solidity and springiness with her feet. _

"_Rose?" Scorpius asked._

"_Hmm?" She turned to face him and realized just how close he was to her._

"_Can I ask you something?"_

"_Sure," she breathed, feeling a little faint. He was inching his way towards her._

"_How would you feel... If I did this?" He leaned down towards her, and Rose was positive he was going to kiss her. She closed her eyes, waiting._

A voice cut through her dream, shattering it like glass. "Time to wake up." Rose reached out, trying in vain to reach her dream again, but it was useless. She blinked her eyes open and sat up, yawning. "Nice nap?" Scorpius asked her with a grin.

"Um, yeah," she replied, feeling a little shaken.

"Alright, my dears, please commence discussing your dreams!" Trelawney said, clapping her hands together.

"So what did you dream about?" Rose rushed the words, before Scorpius had a chance to ask her.

"It's kind of hard to describe," Scorpius said. "I was in this field, and then it started raining. Only it wasn't raining rain, it was raining something else. And before I knew it, I was surrounded by globs of pink jelly."

"Pink jelly?"

"Pink jelly," Scorpius confirmed. "And then I drowned in pink jelly."

"Well, my diagnosis is that you're afraid of pink jelly," Rose joked.

"How'd you come to that conclusion, Sherlock?"

Rose ignored him. "_My_ question is, why are you afraid of pink jelly?"

"I'm not really sure," Scorpius said. "Maybe it has something to do with that jelly you dumped on my head first year."

"Oh, right. That," Rose said, sheepishly.

"Yes, that," Scorpius teased. "So what did you dream about?"

"Me? Oh, nothing much," Rose said casually.

"Liar," Scorpius said.

"Oh, alright," Rose said reluctantly. She relayed her dream, careful to make sure that she made Scorpius into a mysterious boy she'd never seen before. He'd never guess that it was him, not in a million years. At least, Rose hoped so.

"Sounds to me like Rosie's got a crush on someone. Is that why you girl-ified yourself?"

"No," Rose lied. "I just wanted to change stuff up a bit."

"Sure you did," Scorpius said knowingly. "So who is it?"

"No one you know," she replied quickly.

"I know everyone you know," Scorpius pointed out. "So who is it?"

"No one!" Rose insisted.

"Alright," Scorpius said, holding his hands up in defeat. "I give up, you win. Keep your little secret. But I'll pry it out of you eventually."

"Over my dead body," Rose retorted.

"That can be arranged." The grin was back.

…

When classes were over and dinner had been eaten, Scorpius grabbed Rose's arm. "There's a back to school party in the Room of Requirement tonight," he said in a low voice. "You're coming, of course."

"But, I have homework, and-"

"That's not due until Wednesday. Come on, have a little fun, Rosie." The way he said it made it seem like a challenge.

Rose was never one to back down from a challenge. "Fine, I'll be there," she said.

"8 o'clock sharp," he said. "See you then."

Rose returned to the Ravenclaw common room, went up to her dormitory, and changed her clothes. She put on a jean skirt that Lily had given her, a t-shirt, and a pair of tennis shoes. She looked good, but not too girly. She pulled her glossy hair back into a ponytail and added a bit of clear gloss. Perfect.

She went back downstairs to the common room, and was hoping to slip out before anyone noticed, but she was stopped by Ana. "Where are you going?" Ana asked.

"Oh," Rose said uncomfortably. "Just to a party."

"Is James going to be there?" Ana asked hopefully.

"I would assume so," Rose replied. "He never misses a party."

"Take me with you!" Ana pleaded. "I really want to see him."

_Ick_, Rose thought. Who could love her cousin so much? She sighed, then gave in. "Alright, you can come. But you better not tell anyone. And keep the PDA away from me."

"Deal," Ana said. "Let's go."

Rose lead the way from the common room to the Room of Requirement. The door to the party was a portrait, and the password was "sugar plums". Albus had told her after Scorpius had left. She and Ana seemed to be the last ones to arrive. It was hot in the room from all the bodies crowded together. Music was pumping from a seemingly harmless toy chest. Someone had obviously charmed it to play music like a radio. It was obviously on a muggle station, because no one was singing about potions or charming (literally) the love of their life.

She knew where she'd find Scorpius. He'd be where he always was; in the far left corner, snogging whatever girl he'd decided was worthy of him that evening. But when Rose was able to see the corner, she saw that Scorpius wasn't there. That was very odd, and unusual for Scorpius. Rose began pushing through the crowd to see if she could find him. Finally, she found Albus. "Do you know where Scorp is?" she asked.

"He's out looking for a bottle," Albus said.

"A bottle?" Rose asked. And then she made the connection. "Really? He wants to play spin the bottle?"

"You know Scorpius. Always looking for an opportunity to kiss a pretty girl."

"He doesn't need a game," Rose said bitterly. "He could get any girl he wanted."

Albus stared at her curiously. "Are you mad about something?"

Rose quickly regained her composure. "No, I'm fine. Just a little annoyed at Scorp. He's so childish sometimes."

Albus shrugged and turned back to his Slytherin friends. Rose decided to go get something to drink, and had just picked up a glass of sparkling cider when a hand clapped her on the shoulder. She jumped, nearly spilling the cider. She turned on her heel and saw Scorpius grinning at her. Her anger faded away. He held up a bottle. "Ready to play?"

"Sure," Rose said. She knew that, with her luck, Scorpius's spin would never land on her. But she could always play, and hope.

Scorpius gathered a large crowd, and they all sat down in a circle. He placed the bottle in the center of the circle and straightened. "I'll go first, since it was my idea." He bent down, spun the bottle, and waited for it to stop.

Rose closed her eyes and held her breath. When the group went, "Oooooohhh," she decided to brave it. She opened her eyes and saw that the bottle was pointing at Rachel Mason, _the_ most popular girl in school. And one of the few girls who had never given Scorpius the time of day. Rose's heart plummeted. This was it. Scorpius and Rachel would kiss, and Rachel would fall for him like everyone else did.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" the group chanted. Scorpius shot Rachel one of his heart-melting grins, and she stood up gracefully, crossed to the middle of the circle, and kissed Scorpius full on the lips.

_Game over_, Rose sighed.

**A/N: Decided to end there, so you guys can finally have something to read. Anyways, please drop me a review and let me know what you think! I'll try to update again by next Saturday. :)**


	3. Oh, So You Play Quidditch?

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter. :) Special thanks to Ali, who made my life. Again. XD Your reviews always make me feel great. **

**Sorry for the delay, I couldn't think of anything good for the beginning and that just kind of made me stuck. So. I'll try to update again soon! **

**One of the Boys**

**Chapter Three – Oh, So You Play Quidditch?**

Rose sat silently through the rest of the game of Spin the Bottle. With a little luck (and a bit of magic) the bottle never landed on her. When it got around to her, she spun it half-heartedly and was relieved when it landed in between two people. "No big deal," she said. "I'll try again later."

Normally, when Scorpius kissed someone, they disappeared for the rest of the party. But Rachel had sat right back down, leaving Scorpius standing a little awkwardly. He returned to his spot in the circle, unused to someone not falling under his spell. Rose, however, was slightly gleeful. Rachel wasn't going to be competition after all. Rose definitely didn't need competition. She already had most of the school to fight with, but you never could tell; just one more person could make a whole lot of difference.

With Scorpius busy trying to figure out _why_ Rachel wasn't begging to go make out in a corner and Rose not in the mood to play any longer, the game began to break up. Rose stood up and went over to Scorpius, who was thinking hard. "Come on," she told him, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet.

"I don't get it," he said.

"What?" Rose sighed, knowing exactly what was coming.

"Why doesn't Rachel like me?" Scorpius asked.

"Because not every girl you meet is going to fall head over heels for you," Rose retorted.

"Like you," Scorpius said.

Rose stopped, then let out a shaky laugh. "Yeah, like me," she lied. "Come on, let's get something to drink."

They weaved through the crowd to the punch table, and each got a glass of the blood-red liquid. Scorpius drained his cup in a matter of seconds, and began to fill it up again. Rose, on the other hand, took a small sip to determine if the punch had been spiked. Sure enough, there was the flaming taste of Firewhiskey. She put her cup down on the table and watched Scorpius down another cup.

"You know that's full of alcohol, right?" she asked him.

Scorpius shrugged. "Whatever." He had never minded drinking. Rose had always been responsible, though, and was usually there to prevent Scorpius from doing something stupid when he was drunk. It looked like tonight was going to be one of those nights. After Scorpius had downed a third glass of the Firewhiskey-punch mixture, he was already getting towards drunk. Twenty minutes and about six cups of punch later, he said, "Rose?"

"What?" Rose sighed, not looking forward to spending the evening with a drunk Scorpius.

"In all seven years we've known each other, you've had a total of one boyfriend." His words were slightly slurred. "Why is that?"

Rose shrugged. "Apparently, I have a complete lack of appeal."

Scorpius shook his head. "You're pretty, Rosie. You know what I think?" he asked, leaning forward to whisper.

"What?"

"You like someone," he breathed.

"What?" Rose snorted. "You're funny, Scorpius," she said nervously.

"Rose likes someone," Scorpius sang, doing an awkward dance. He landed funny and tripped, crashing into Rose and sending them both sprawling on the floor.

"Ouch!" Rose said. "Scorpius, you're heavy." She attempted to shove Scorpius off of her. For a split second, before pushing himself up, Scorpius met Rose's gaze. Her stomach turned over, and she felt like a magnet was drawing her head towards him. He bent his head, too, but suddenly climbed to his feet and reached a hand down to pull her up. Disappointment radiated through her, but she quickly pushed it away. Scorpius was the It boy. He'd never like her.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Maybe I should stop drinking that punch."

"That's probably a good idea," Rose agreed, rubbing a sore spot on her back. "I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Alright," Scorpius said. "Night."

"Good night."

…

In the morning, Rose made sure she visited Scorpius at the Slytherin table during breakfast to slip him a Hangover Potion. He was grateful, having consumed even more of the punch after Rose had gone. "You're an idiot, you know that?" she asked in a low voice as he drank the potion.

"I know," he answered. "I shouldn't have had so much to drink." He paused, then looked up at Rose. "Thanks," he added.

"For what?" she asked, surprised.

"For being such a great friend."

"You're welcome?" she said, but it came out as more of a question. She left then, and ate breakfast at the Ravenclaw table. She chewed thoughtfully on a biscuit, and wondered what had brought on Scorpius's burst of affection.

Morning classes passed quickly, and Rose was on her way to lunch when she heard her name. "Rose!"

She turned around to see a familiar tall, brunette boy coming towards her. It was Adam Stevens, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain. She waited for him to get close enough, and said, "What's up?"

"I need to make sure you're going to be at tryouts tonight."

"Of course," Rose said, a little surprised.

"Alright," Adam said. "Do you think you could help me organize again this year?"

"Sure," Rose said, smiling. Thanks to her, last year's tryouts had gone much faster. Obviously Adam was hoping for it to work out well again. When Adam left, Rose headed to the Great Hall, her stomach growling. She was sitting down at the Ravenclaw table when Scorpius grabbed her shoulder. Albus was standing beside him.

"Are you going to come watch us?" Scorpius asked, smoothing his blond hair back.

Rose looked at the foot on the table, the delicious smells wafting towards her. Her stomach growled again, begging her to say no. Look back at Scorpius and Albus, her resolve crumbled. "Fine," she sighed. "Just let me wrap some food up. I'll meet you down there," she promised.

Albus and Scorpius left, and Rose grabbed a napkin off the table. She unfolded it, piled breads, cheese, several different types of meats, and some fruits into it, and wrapped it back up. As she was exiting the Great Hall, she nearly bumped into Ana. "Hi Rose," Ana said. "Where are you going?"

"I promised Albus and Scorpius that I would watch them try out," Rose explained.

"I was thinking about trying out this year." Ana said nonchalantly.

"You play Quidditch?" Rose asked in surprise.

"I learned," Ana admitted. She lowered her voice and added, "I was hoping it might impress James."

Rose resisted the urge to roll her eyes. James didn't _need_ impressing. He and Ana were both so smitten with each other than they had no idea the other was interested. It was ridiculous. Instead, she said, "That's great."

"Do you want me to come with?" Ana asked suddenly. "To the Slytherin tryouts?"

Ana was just full of surprises that day, and Rose didn't know what to say. "Sure," she managed after a moment. They strolled out the double doors, across the gently sloping laws, and into the stands of the Quidditch stadium. They took seats near the front, and Rose opened her napkin. She picked up a buttered roll and began munching on it.

Below them on the Quidditch field, the Slytherin captain was busy trying to get things organized. Scorpius was standing with the other students trying out to be Chasers, and Albus was amongst the Keepers. Rose eyed the three others standing with Albus. Two boys and a girl were also going to try out to be Keeper. Without turning away, she said to Ana, "Albus has no competition. Neither of those boys have the coordination a Keeper needs, and the girl over there lacks confidence."

"How can you tell?" Ana asked in an awed voice.

"Look at how clumsily the other boys move," Rose replied, pointing. There wasn't a huge difference, but Albus maintained a much steadier stance, indicating that he was a more firm blocker. "And the way the girl is slumped, with her arms crossed. She doesn't think she'll get it at all, and she's right. You have to _know_ you're going to block the quaffle, or you just won't."

Ana nodded slowly, taking in Rose's words. No doubt she was committing this all to memory for her own tryout that night. Curiously, Rose turned to look at the girl beside her. "What position were you thinking of trying out for?" Rose questioned.

"I'm not really sure," Ana said, becoming very interested in her hands.

Rose looked her over slowly and carefully. She was on the small side; thin, petite, just below average height. She would make a good seeker, if she had a good broom and knew how to fly well. At the same time, she could be a good Chaser as well. Being small meant she'd be able to avoid the other team more easily. She wouldn't be good as a Beater or a Keeper, though. "You'd be good as a Seeker," Rose told her finally.

"You think?" Ana asked, her blue eyes lighting up.

"Yeah," Rose said. "How well would you say you can fly?"

"My dad says I'm a natural," Ana said proudly. Rose wasn't sure she could trust Ana's father, as he and his wife had always been ones to spoil and coddle their daughter. If she wanted to hear she was great at something, that's what she would hear.

"I have a free period before dinner," Rose said. "If you want, we could come down here and get a little practice in before the tryouts." She was curious now to see how well Ana did on a broomstick.

"Really?" Ana asked. "That would be great! Thanks, Rose." She smiled, her face bright with excitement.

"Keepers!" the Slytherin captain called. Albus and the others went to him, and they had a short conversation. They got on their brooms and flew over to the hoops. The captain then motioned to Scorpius, who also got on his broom. The captain bent down, picked up a quaffle, and tossed it to Scorpius. He joined the Keepers by the hoops.

"Jackson, Peter!" the captain called. The biggest of the three boys took his place at the hoops. Scorpius began throw the quaffle in attempt to get it in the goal. Peter blocked two. The next boy, Adam Wilson, only blocked one. Penny, the girl, managed one also. Albus, however, saved all five.

Rose had been afraid that someone would protest Albus's perfect score because he and Scorpius were best friends. There was no way anyone could, though, because Albus had made some truly spectacular saves. At one point, Scorpius had forced him to zoom from one end of the goals to the other.

"He's really good," Ana said.

"He comes from the best," Rose answered, meaning her Uncle Harry. He had been an extremely talented Quidditch player in his time. In fact, so had her Aunt Ginny. She had even played for the Holyhead Harpies, an all women's Quidditch team, for a while. Her own father, Ron Weasley, was a fair player. Her mother, on the other hand, was very poor at the sport. Rose guessed she got her own talent from her father's side of the family.

"You're really good, too," Ana said. "You're always the star at the games."

"I'm not suppose to be," Rose said sheepishly. "I just get competitive."

"And you always win," Ana replied. "Isn't that the point?"

"Not always," Rose argued. "It's always an even match with Slytherin."

"You beat them half the time."

"And the other half, Slytherin wins the Quidditch Cup," Rose said, a little bitterly.

"Chasers!" The call redirected Rose's and Ana's attention down to the Quidditch field. The Chasers' first test was to throw the quaffle through the unguarded hoops five times. Six people, including Scorpius, managed this. Then Albus was put in front of the hoops, and they had to try again. Only Scorpius was able to make it past, and even then he only scored once.

The other two Chasers chosen were the two who had kept Albus moving, but had been unable to score. They chose the Beaters next, and tryouts were over. The Captain held the position of Seeker, so there was no need to hold tryouts for one. Rose and Ana left the stands and were leaning against the wall of the locker rooms, chatting until Albus and Scorpius came out.

"We made the team," Scorpius said with a grin.

"Of course you did," Rose answered. "No one else was any good. So, you're coming to _my_ tryouts tonight, right?"

"And miss dinner?" Scorpius asked.

"I missed lunch," Rose pointed out.

"You did not," Scorpius replied. "I saw you eating a roll earlier."

"So get food and come down here," she said.

"I'll think about it," he said.

"Albus?" Rose asked pleadingly.

"I'll be there," Albus promised. "I'll drag him with," he added, nodding at Scorpius.

"I'd like to see you try," Scorpius said, laughing. Albus wasn't short, but Scorpius was a good four inches taller. He was also naturally muscular, while Albus had to work to build up.

"I will," Albus shot back.

"Let's go," Scorpius challenged.

"Let's not," Rose interjected, stepping between them. "Come on, Scorpius, you've got studying to do." She grabbed his hand and began pulling up the hill to the castle. Scorpius groaned, but allowed himself to yanked up the lawn, leaving Ana and Albus behind.

…

A thrilled feeling shot through rose as she and Scorpius made their way to the castle, hands clasped. When they reached the double doors that led to the entrance hall, she had the sense to let go of Scorpius' hand. "Go get your books and meet me in the library in ten," she instructed, heading in the opposite direction, to the Ravenclaw tower.

In her dormitory, she grabbed her school bag and went downstairs to the library. Seven minutes later, Scorpius joined her. They both pulled out their Potions work and began working on the homework that had been assigned that morning.

The first thing that Professor Loeman had done was give them a review packet of everything they had learned over the past five years. It had been fourteen pages thick, and not even Rose had been able to complete it. They worked on it now, Scorpius asking questions every so often.

"What the bloody hell does lacewing flies have to do with Potions?"

"It's an important ingredient in Polyjuice Potion," Rose answered, her quill flying over the page.

A few minutes of silence passed, and then, "Who cares what Veritaserum is?"

"It's a truth potion."

"Thanks."

They continued studying for the rest of the hour, then packed up and got ready to go to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Rose, who was more interested in her Quidditch tryouts that evening, had a hard time paying attention during class. Even so, she was able to answer Scorpius's homework when they were leaving. "He said he wants us to read the first chapter of our books before next class," Rose said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She glanced down at the thin, silver watch that was strapped around her wrist. It was about time to meet with Ana to practice.

"Look, I promised Ana I'd help her with something. I'll see you in an hour?" she told Scorpius and Albus.

"Sure," Albus said. Scorpius nodded and followed Rose's cousin down the stairs and towards the dungeons, where the Slytherin common room was located. Rose went upstairs to the Ravenclaw tower to get her broom. Ana was waiting for her in the common room, a brand new broom clutched in her hands. Rose pulled her trusty Firebolt 8000 out from underneath her bed and joined Ana in the common room. They went down to the Quidditch field together, talking about their classes and how hard they expected them to be this year.

Down in the pitch, Rose mounted her broom and took off. She looked down at Ana, and called, "Come on!"

Ana mounted her broom, looking kind of nervous, and then kicked off. Rose watched her maneuver through the sky, and had to admit that Ana's father was right; she was a natural. "Good job!" Rose told her, zooming over. "Good thing Adam is a Beater," she added, talking about their Quidditch captain. It meant that the position of Seeker was open for Ana to try out for. She brought her broom to a halt midair and instructed Ana to see how fast her broom could go. Considering it was brand new, and one of the best brands, Ana shot across the pitch faster than Rose could.

"Learn how to catch a Snitch, and you'll be perfect!" Rose told Ana.

"Thanks," Ana smiled.

They raced around the pitch some more, to get Ana more comfortable on her broom, and soon Ravenclaws began filing into the pitch for the tryouts. Adam saw Rose and called her down. Ana followed, and Rose took the clipboard from Adam and pulled her wand out of her Quidditch boot. She used a charm to enhance the volume of her voice and began speaking. "If you're hear to try out for Seeker, please line up single file here!" Several people, Ana included, followed her directions and made a clean line in the fake grass. Adam gave the first person in line another clipboard and instructed them to begin signing their names. Rose moved six or seven feet to the right and continued. "Keepers will line up here." The process occurred again, and the Keepers began signing their names on a clipboard. "Chasers here, and Beaters over there!"

Within five minutes, the clipboards were returned to Adam. He called for the Seekers to mount their brooms. Rose told the other students to sit down in their lines, because they might be in for a long wait. The Keepers kicked off from the ground and hovered in the air, waiting for their next instructions. Adam pulled a golden Snitch out of his pocket and released it into the air. "The first person to catch it will be our new Seeker," he announced.

The Seekers shot off in all different directions, and Rose turned her attention to the stands. Her stomach gave a flip when she saw Scorpius, looking perfect as always. Beside him was Albus, which pleased Rose. She loved that she was so close to a member of her family, someone who would always be around to help her. Sometimes she thought she took Albus for granted. That moment wasn't one of those times. Rose went to stand beside Adam as they waited for one of the students to catch the Snitch, but kept shooting looks at Scorpius. He seemed to be more interested in which one of the Ravenclaws was going to catch the Snitch.

After a few minutes, there was suddenly a triumphant cry, and a collective groan. Rose looked up and saw that the person holding the Snitch was Ana. She felt a mixture of pleasure and shock, happy that Ana had been the one to grab the Snitch. Ana and the others came down and Ana handed Adam the little golden ball. "Welcome to the team," he said, smiling.

"Thanks," Ana said, a wide smile plastered on her face.

"Keepers next!" Adam called. The process was very similar to the Slytherin tryouts, and a boy named Justin Loggins won the position. Chasers were called next, and Rose mounted her broom. She managed to score four out of five goals, and took her place on the Ravenclaw team again. Her fellow Chasers were Hayley Thomas and Mark Smith. The final member of their team, the second Beater, was a boy by the name of Conner Evans.

"Great job, everyone," Adam congratulated. "I'll be making a training schedule, and I'll get it to you all as soon as possible. You can all go change now."

Rose changed quickly, and met Scorpius and Albus outside.

"Nice job," Scorpius told her, giving her a high-five.

"Thanks," Rose said, glad it was dark. She knew she was turning slightly red, though she wasn't sure why. Compliments had never made her feel shy before. Not even from Scorpius. So why was now different? Suddenly she wished she had brushed her hair and pulled it up, having decided she looked prettier that way. How did Scorpius think she looked? She was all sweaty and gross from the tryouts.

"I forgot to tell you," Scorpius said, "I got a new broom. Dad bought it for me. Do you want to try it?"

"Definitely!" Rose said. She followed Scorpius back into the pitch.

"Albus?" Ana asked.

"What's up?" Rose's cousin asked.

"Do you think you could walk with me back up to the castle?" she asked sheepishly. "I'm a little afraid of the dark."

"Sure," Albus said easily. "Just make sure James doesn't find out. He might murder me."

"Why would he do that?" Ana asked, confused.

Albus and Rose exchanged exasperated looks. "Let's just go," Albus said, leading Ana out of the Quidditch pitch.

"Funny," Rose said when they were gone. "I didn't know Ana was afraid of the dark."

Scorpius shrugged. "People are afraid of all sorts of things." He held out his broom. "Here," he said.

"Cool," Rose said, grasping it. The wooden handle was slick and soft to the touch. It was clearly a very well-made broom. She mounted it excitedly and took off. It was fast, and responded well. It was almost as if she were flying on her own, without anything underneath her. Feeling overly-confident, Rose wasn't paying much attention to what she was doing, and didn't realize she was descending until it was almost too late. She pulled out of the dive sharply, but lost her grip on the handle. She tumbled through the air, and landed on something warm with a thump.

"Ow," Rose moaned.

"Ow yourself," a voice beneath her grumbled.

"Scorpius!" Rose exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!" She looked down and met Scorpius's grey gaze.

"It's alright," Scorpius answered. For some reason, Rose couldn't bring herself to break the eye contact. "Rose?"

"Hmm?" she asked.

"You can get off me now."

"Right!" she said, embarrassment flooding through her. "Sorry," she told him as she scrambled up into a standing position.

"It's okay," he said. After a pause, he added, "You can use me as a pillow whenever you want."

**A/N: Okay, I think it's time to end this chapter. I'm on nine pages. I think that's the longest chapter of the story so far. If I hadn't waited so long to update, I might have continued some... But I feel the need to get this up. So please leave me a review! I'd really appreciate it. Thanks, everyone! (:**


	4. A Time of Many Traditions

**A/N: I got a decent amount of reviews in spite of the fact that it took me three weeks to update. Hopefully this chapter won't take me so long. Anyways, thanks to those of you who did review, I really appreciate it! Especially Ali, for always making my day. **

**One of the Boys**

**Chapter Four – A Time of Many Traditions**

"Since we both made our teams, you know what that calls for?" Scorpius asked as he led the way up the dark, grassy lawn to the castle.

"Celebration!" Rose said, smiling. Every year since they were thirteen, after making their Quidditch teams, she, Scorpius, and Albus made it a point to visit the kitchens and order their favorite meals as a celebration. Rose's own tradition was to always order fish and chips, and yorkshire pudding. She wasn't entirely sure where the house elves got all the ingredients for her dinner, but they always came through. They also always made their version of the dish taste ten times better than if Rose had gotten it from a street vendor in London.

"Where's Albus?" Rose asked, remembering that Albus had walked Ana up to the castle. "Why didn't he come back down to find us? He knows we always get dinner afterwards."

Scorpius shrugged. "His loss. Come on."

They went downstairs to where the bowl of fruit painting was located, and Scorpius reached out to tickle the pear. When it turned into a handle, it gave it a quick turn and the painting swung forward. Scorpius and Rose crawled through the hidden tunnel it revealed and stepped out into the Hogwarts kitchen, which was crawling with house elves. They all stopped when Rose and Scorpius straightened up and gave low bows. "Welcome, Master Malfoy and Mistress Weasley!" they all cried happily, hurrying towards their guests. "What may we do for you today?"

Scorpius and Rose exchanged a glance, before chorusing, "Chocolate cake." It was another part of their tradition. They always pigged out on chocolate cake after making the Quidditch teams. That was another thing Rose liked about Scorpius; she didn't feel awkward or embarrassed to eat around him, like a lot of girls seemed to be. She had noticed that even Lily ate very little around guys that she happened to like.

As if by magic (and it probably was magic), the house elves soon produced a chocolate cake for Rose and Scorpius, along with two plates, two forks, a knife, two glasses, and a pitcher of milk. They were seated on pillows at a table that was meant for the elves themselves, but was quite comfortable for the two of them if they didn't use the stools. Scorpius cut two thick slices of cake and put one on each plate, then handed a plate to Rose.

The cake was fluffy and rich with the taste of chocolate, both in the cake itself and the butter cream frosting on the outside. By the time Rose had finished her slice, her stomach was protesting, but Scorpius was reaching for a second slice. "How do you do it?" Rose demanded.

"Do what?"

"Eat so damn much," she said.

Scorpius shrugged. "I dunno. I always eat a lot. Most boys do."

"It's like you have a garbage disposal for a stomach. You're never full, are you?"

"Not really," Scorpius said, grinning before taking another bite of cake. The thought of more cake made Rose sick to her stomach.

"Uck, hide it," she said, waving her hands wildly. Scorpius rolled his eyes, but put the rest of the cake under the table and put his plate in his lap, with exaggerated gestures. When he was finished, Rose's stomach felt better. "Thanks."

"How are you going to last the night?" Scorpius asked.

His words were a reminder of what Rose had almost forgotten. Another part of their tradition was to pull an all-nighter for absolutely no reason. Granted, the first all-nighter had been because Rose had gotten food poisoning and had spent the night puking her guts out while Scorpius and Albus stood by for comfort, but that was besides the point. "I'll be fine," Rose said, waving her hand casually. "I just need time to digest this cake."

"Wimp," Scorpius teased.

"Fatty," Rose shot back.

"That was harsh," Scorpius said, pretending to be hurt. He frowned, but Rose wasn't falling for it.

"Sometimes people need to hear things they don't want to. In your case, you need to stop eating all that cake before you blow up like a balloon."

"Like your Uncle Harry's aunt?" Scorpius asked.

"Exactly. Only you won't be able to float," Rose responded, a cross between a smile and a smirk playing on her lips.

"You're so mean to me," Scorpius said, dragging a finger down his cheek to indicate a tear.

"You're mean to me!" Rose cried.

"I do it out of love."

"Well, so do I."

"Do you, Rose? Do you really?" he asked, leaning across the table to stare at her.

"Get away from me, freak," Rose said, laughing as she pushed Scorpius away.

"Come on, let's go," he said, pulling an empty plate off his lap and setting it down on the table. "Thank you," he added to the nearest house elf, who squeaked with glee before picking up the rest of the cake and the empty dishes. Scorpius led the way out of the kitchens and upstairs to the joint common room. It was only going on eight o'clock, so it was still rather full. Rose and Scorpius found Albus by the fireside, talking to a Hufflepuff girl that Rose didn't know the name of.

"You missed cake," she said, flopping down in the seat next to him.

Albus looked over, startled. "Sorry," he said. "I forgot."

"You forgot a tradition we've been doing for almost four years?" Scorpius asked.

"Sorry," Albus said again, glancing at the Hufflepuff girl. "No offense, guys, but I'm kind of busy..."

"You're staying up all night, right?" Rose asked quickly.

Albus hesitated. "I don't know..."

"You can't just bail on us!" Scorpius said. "It's our _tradition_. The three of us, not just me and Rose. Come on, Al."

"Alright," Albus said, relenting. "I'll meet you guys in a few hours."

"Okay," Rose said, getting the hint. She stood up and grabbed Scorpius by the arm. "Let's go."

"Why?" Scorpius asked.

"He wants to be alone, dummy," Rose whispered, dragging Scorpius away from her cousin.

"Who is that, anyways?" Scorpius asked when they were a safe distance away. The two of them shot looks over their shoulder at the pretty brunette Hufflepuff.

"I have no idea," Rose answered. "But I think he likes her."

Scorpius glanced around the room. "Look at us," he said. "We're the only two people in the school who _aren't_ dating someone."

"That's not true," Rose protested, but looking around the room, she saw it seemed true. Albus and the Hufflepuff were talking happily, James and Ana sat on another couch, looking smitten, and there were more than a few couples snogging. She glanced at Scorpius, who was staring at her, and felt her stomach flip over. "Come on, let's go some where else. We obviously don't belong here," she joked.

As they were leaving the joint common room, Lily entered, and gave Rose an idea. "I'll be right back," she told Scorpius. Rushing to catch up with Lily, she grabbed her cousin's arm. "Hey, I need to ask you something."

"What?" Lily asked.

"I don't think this is working," Rose said.

"What's not working?"

"This," Rose answered, gesturing to herself. "I feel like he's still treating me like a little sister or something."

"It's your own fault," Lily pointed out.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You're the one that allowed yourself to become one of the boys."

"I don't want to be one of the boys," Rose moaned.

"Well, then we have some serious work to do. Are you up for the challenge?" Lily asked.

Rose made a face.

"Look," Lily sighed. "If you want to get Scorpius, you need to be committed. Are you, or are you going to back out?"

Rose hesitated, then finally let out a breath. "Alright."

"We'll get to work on Saturday," Lily promised.

Feeling a little afraid of what Lily was going to do to her, Rose returned to Scorpius. "What was that about?" he asked.

"Nothing," Rose lied. "Just family stuff."

"Like?" he asked, curious.

"None of your business. Now come on, let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"I have no idea," Rose admitted. "I just want to get away from all the snogging."

"What's wrong with snogging?" Scorpius asked teasingly.

"Nothing," Rose said. "I just don't want to watch it."

"Have you ever even been kissed, Rose?" Scorpius asked her.

"As a matter of fact, I have," Rose said stiffly.

"Who was it?"

"None of your business."

"You haven't, have you?" Scorpius asked incredulously. He stopped walking, and by this point they were alone in the darkening corridors.

"So what if I haven't?" Rose snapped.

"You mean you didn't even kiss Paul in third year?"

"No," Rose said, making a face. "After a few days, he started to gross me out, to be honest."

"Then why did you date him for a month?" Scorpius asked.

"I didn't want to hurt his feelings," Rose explained.

Scorpius shook his head. "If you didn't like him, why would it matter if you hurt his feelings or not?"

"Because unlike you, I'm not a heart breaker."

"I'm not a heart breaker!" Scorpius denied.

"Oh really?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow. "What about Kathy? And Emily, and Penelope, and Jessica, and Carly, and Hailey, and Maria?"

"So what if I've had a few girlfriends?"

"Who have all had their hearts broken by you?"

Scorpius opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, looking slightly dejected. Rose felt bad immediately, wondering why she had decided to bring it up in the first place. He had been teasing her, sure, and maybe it had infuriated her, but this wasn't the way to fix it. In fact, this had just seemed to make things worse. "Sorry, Scorp," Rose said softly. "I didn't mean it."

"It's okay," Scorpius said, brightening considerably at her apology. "Hey, you want to play a board game? We haven't done that since Christmas in first year."

"Sure," Rose said, finding the idea to be very appealing. She had a knack for getting the Room of Requirement to give her the greatest board games a kid could ask for. Any seven-year-old would be jealous of the games she had been able to conjure up. Scorpius seemed to enjoy them, having never played Muggle games as a child. Rose turned around and led the way up to the seventh floor corridor, where the Room of Requirement was located. "What do you want to play?"

"You decide," Scorpius said.

Closing her eyes, Rose walked back and forth in front of the blank stretch of wall three times, a game in mind. When she opened her eyes, the door had appeared. She remembered a story her mother had told her, about the last night of the Great War, when the Room of Requirement had been permanently damaged by a magic fire. Most had thought that the room would never work again, but after a lot of hard work, Hermione had been able to repair it. Sometimes, though, it got mixed up and gave the wrong thing. Rose's knack included being very clear with what she wanted, and the room always came through for her.

"That should do it," Rose announced, pulling the door open. Inside were stacks over ten feet tall of board games, and they were all Monopoly. Each box was a different version of the game, from the original to a TV cartoon to an ocean-themed version. "Take your pick," she told Scorpius.

After sorting through a group of boxes, he finally decided on the orginal version of the game. He and Rose sat cross-legged on the floor, and she began dealing the money. Scorpius turned the playing pieces over in his hand, and chose the top hat. Rose picked the thimble, and they began. Hours later, Rose had dominated ¾ of the board, and was waiting for Scorpius to go bankrupt.

Scorpius rolled the dice, muttering to himself. "Six!" Rose said gleefully, watching as Scorpius moved his top hat to her most expensive hotel of the entire board. "Fork it over."

"I don't have enough," Scorpius complained.

"That," Rose said, reaching over and snatching the small pile of money out of Scorpius's hand, "means I win."

"You always win," Scorpius grumbled. "Can't you ever go easy on me?"

"And give you a false sense of happiness?" Rose asked. "I don't think so." She dropped her stack of money on the board and asked, "Want to play again?"

"No thanks," Scorpius snorted. "I've had enough butt-kicking for one night."

"Wimp," Rose taunted.

"Fatty," Scorpius answered, repeating her previous insult.

"That's you, not me."

"Really?" Scorpius asked, pulling his shirt over his head. "Does this look fat to you?" He showed off a well defined six-pack. Rose turned away quickly.

"Put your shirt back on, you've got nothing to show," Rose said, throwing his shirt back at him.

"Jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous of your pasty chest?" Rose asked.

"Because you can't get pecs like this."

"I don't need pecs like that," Rose answered, "Because I'm not a guy."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Pretty sure," Rose said, laughing to cover the sting that Scorpius's words had.

"So you've really never been kissed?" Scorpius asked suddenly, changing the subject.

"Never."

"You're a lip virgin?"

"Basically," Rose said, wondering where he was going with this.

"As your close and personal friend, I can change that," he suggested casually.

"You want to be my first kiss?" Rose asked in disbelief.

"Just so you can get it over with," Scorpius assured her. "If you don't want to, no big deal."

"No, I – That's fine," Rose said, stumbling over her words.

"Okay." Scorpius leaned over the Monopoly board, and Rose's heart beat increased. She was going to kiss Scorpius, and it wasn't a dream.

"What are you doing?" Albus's voice cut in.

Rose was so startled by her cousin that she fell over on her back. "She had something in her eye," Scorpius was saying as Rose pushed herself back up into a sitting position.

"Yeah, it was really bothering me," Rose said, going along with Scorpius's story. If he didn't want Albus to know what had really been about to happen, she wasn't going to rat him out. But why didn't he want Albus to know? Scorpius always liked to brag about how many girls he got. Was Rose not good enough to brag about? "You're late, by the way," Rose accused.

"I know, I'm sorry," Albus said. "I got caught up in talking with Brenda."

"Oh, so that's her name," Rose said.

"Albus and Brenda, sitting in a tree," Scorpius started, but Albus cut him off.

"Are you guys playing Monopoly? I want to play!"

"We actually just finished," Rose told him.

"Well, let's play again."

"I'm game," Rose smiled.

Scorpius groaned. "I'm going to loose again."

**A/N: And I think I'm going to go ahead and end it there.**

**I know this chapter was kind of short, but I had some trouble getting through it. I honestly didn't really know what to do with it. I have a bigger plan for the next chapter, so hopefully it will be better.**

**ALSO. I'm on the west coast, and it's 11 o'clock as I write this. Therefore, I have fulfilled my promise of updating on Saturday. So hah! Anyways... Please leave a review. I'd really appreciate it.**


	5. Another Makeover Equals a Fun Birthday

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, yet again! I really appreciate the reviews. They make me quite happy, and give me a reason to check my e-mail. So keep reviewing! Thanks. :D**

**One of the Boys**

**Chapter Five – Another Makeover Equals a Fun Birthday**

When Saturday finally rolled around, Rose was feeling apprehensive. Her stomach was knotted badly, and she was unable to eat breakfast. Scorpius and Albus kept asking her what was wrong, but she lied and told them she just wasn't hungry. That didn't go very well, because she was also very fidgety. She could tell they didn't believe her, but she obviously wasn't going to tell them what was really going on.

_A normal girl would be looking forward to this_, Rose decided. Why couldn't she be excited for a makeover? True, she had never been overly happy with herself, but she hadn't been too desperate to change, either. Maybe she wished she could look nicer most of the time, but she didn't want to turn into a short-skirt, tight-shirt, high-heel wearing teenage girl. That just wasn't who she was. She'd have to make sure to tell Lily to go easy on the second makeover.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Scorpius asked for what felt like the fiftieth time.

"Fine," Rose said tightly. She glanced at her watch, and saw that it was time for her to meet Lily, and most likely Lucy. Lily had instructed her to meet in the fourth-floor girl's bathroom, so Rose climbed the ever-moving staircases and entered the bathroom. "Lily?" she called softly.

"Over here," her cousin answered from the far side of the bathroom. Rose rounded the corner to find Lily and Lucy sitting cross-legged on the stone floor, two large makeup bags in front of them. Makeup was strewn across the floor, all different types of lipsticks, eyeshadows, blush, eye liner, lip liner, and more. There were also several different sized straighteners, curlers, hair spray, hair gel, and a number of things that Rose couldn't even begin to identify.

"Try not to go too overboard, okay?" Rose asked, sitting down gingerly in front of her cousins.

Lily and Lucy exchanged looks. "We can't make any promises," Lily announced. "But trust me, you're going to _love_ the look we have planned for you."

Rose grimaced, and watched with growing panic as her cousins shifted through their supplies. Each girl grabbed an object and scooted closer to Rose. "Just close your eyes," Lily told her in a soothing tone. "It'll be over before you know it."

Rose sat as still as she could for what felt like hours while Lily and Lucy poked and prodded her face with different things and pulled on her hair until her scalp her. "Could you possibly be a little more gentle?" she snapped.

"Sorry," Lucy apologized, her grip on Rose's hair loosening. A few minutes later, her scalp felt extremely itchy and she felt something crawling down her back.

"What's that?" she asked nervously.

"Nothing," Lucy answered. "Just relax." After a moment, the itchy feeling receded and the crawling sensation stopped. Seconds later, Rose felt a wave of heat hit her back, and knew Lucy was either curling or straightening her hair. It soon became apparent that her hair was being curled in an attempt to try something different.

Lily sat in front of Rose, painting her face. Some type of powder was lightly brushed across Rose's face before the real torture began. Lipstick was applied first, with a touch of lip gloss afterwards, followed by streaks of eyeshadow, blush, and eye liner. By the time Lily was finished, Lucy had curled the last strand of hair. "Alright, open your eyes. I need to do your mascara, and then you're done."

Rose blinked her eyes open, and tried to keep from flinching while Lily brushed the mascara onto her eyelashes. "And... Done," Rose said, pulling the mascara brush away and pushing it back into the tube before twisting it shut. "Perfect."

"We did a great job," Lucy said gleefully, giving Lily a high-five. "Are you going to look in a mirror?"

Rose got to her feet, her knees radiating pain from having sat cross-legged for so long. She stretched, then went over to the nearest mirror. The reflection she saw took her breath away. She almost didn't even recognize herself. Her first reaction was to yell at Lily and Lucy for going overboard when she asked them not to, but she took a closer look instead.

Her brown eyes look warm and bright, with fierce black eyelashes curling off the tops. Her freckles, while normally making her look even more tom-boyish, actually added to her feminine look. Her skin seemed to glow from whatever powder Lily had used, and her lips were pink and glossy, with a hint of brown tinge. Her red hair was glossy than ever and bounced around her shoulders in an abundance of curls. There was something else different, but Rose couldn't put her finger on it right away.

Rose put a hand on the sink and twisted around to face her cousins again. "Did you... Is my hair longer?" she asked, reaching up to feel her curls. The reach was distinctly shorter.

"Growth charm," Lucy admitted with a sly smile.

"It looks really nice," Lily added quickly.

Rose turned back to the mirror. She had to admit, she liked what she was seeing. Thanks to Lily and Lucy, she was the kind of girl that Scorpius went for.

"Now we just need to put it to the test. Where's Scorpius?" Lily asked.

"Where ever Albus is distracting him. I'm suppose to set up his surprise party for tonight."

"His birthday is today?" Lucy asked.

"Monday," Rose replied, "But we're trying to surprise him."

"Don't you always throw him a surprise party?"

"It's the date that's a surprise, not the part itself," Rose explained. "Before, we've always held it _on_ his birthday. We're trying something new this year."

"Where is it going to be?" Lucy asked.

"Room of Requirement?" Lily followed. "We're invited, right?"

"Yes," Rose answered with a smile. "Everyone is invited." She took one last look in the mirror, then said, "Now I need to go make his cake."

"Have the house elves do it," Lily said.

"No," Rose said, "I want to do it myself."

"Good luck with that," Lily said. "Those house elves aren't going to leave you alone."

"I know," Rose sighed, "But I'll figure something out. See you later." She left her cousins to clean up the bathroom while she went downstairs to the kitchens. The house elves greeted her warmly as always. "I need to make a cake for Scorpius' birthday."

"We can make a cake right quickly," the apparent elf in charge said.

"I appreciate the offer," Rose said gently, "But I want to make it myself."

"How many people be eating this cake, Miss?"

"Well... A lot," Rose admitted.

"Making a cake that big will take you too long, Miss. We do it quickly," the house elf said.

"Fine," Rose said. "You make a big cake for the party, and I'll make a special one for Scorpius."

"Very well," the elf said. Rose could tell he wasn't overly happy, but he would let Rose do as she wished. She began going through the cabinets for cake mix, bowls, spoons, measuring cups, water, and a cake pan. For the frosting, she gathered food coloring, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. She decided to make it a one layer yellow cake with green frosting. She would use red frosting to create an edible replica of a quaffle on the top. As the house elves bustled around the kitchen behind her, preparing the giant cake for the party, Rose set to work making Scorpius's special cake.

A few hours later, Rose's cake was finished, and the big cake was almost complete. Checking her watch, Rose saw that it was three o'clock, and she needed to head up to the Room of Requirement to set up the party. Lifting the plate that held her well-crafted cake, Rose decided it would be best to take the cake with her. She gripped the plate tightly on her walk up to the seventh floor corridor where the room was hidden. On the way there, she was surprised by the number of boys that stopped and stared as she walked past. She wasn't used to such attention.

At the tapestry on the seventh floor, Rose paced back and forth in front of it three times, thinking to herself. _I need somewhere I can throw Scorpius's birthday. _When she opened her eyes, the door was there. She pushed it open and looked around to see what the room had given her. In the far corner were three long tables, each covered with an emerald green table cloth and littered with bowls of snacks and plenty of drinks. In the center of the room was a dance floor, and a stage for a band or some sort of DJ. Almost as if the room knew Scorpius's personality to a T, there were several couches and chairs in another corner, the perfect place for couples to head off to. Rose made a face. She was sick of thinking about all those happy couples when she was sadly single.

Green and silver crepe paper hung from the ceiling, along with a number of other decorations. Patting the wall closest to her, Rose said, "I couldn't have done it better myself." She had learned that complimenting the room tended to make a difference. It seemed as though it had a sort of personality to it, and Rose felt almost as if it were a friend she had known her entire life. It was odd, but she had never questioned it before, and wasn't going to start now.

Now that the party room was ready, Rose would take the cake and find Scorpius and Albus and spend some time with them before the party. They hadn't had any time between just the three of them since school started. Someone was always off doing something, or bringing someone else along. It would be nice to have some time alone with her best friend and cousin. She picked the cake up and made her way to the joint common room. Albus and Scorpius were just leaving as Rose arrived. "Albus!" she called.

Her cousin turned, and grinned when he saw the cake in her hands. "I hope that's for me."

"Actually, it's for Scorpius," Rose replied, presenting the cake to her friend.

"This looks great, Rosie," Scorpius said with a smile. "But my birthday isn't until Monday."

"I decided to get a head-start," Rose answered with a shrug and a smile of her own.

"You're going to share that, right?" Albus asked Scorpius, a hungry look in his eyes.

"I'll think about it," Scorpius said, pretending to think.

Rose laughed. "Come on, let's go outside and eat." She thought for a moment, then said, "We'll need forks, won't we?"

"Who needs forks?" Albus grinned. "We have hands, don't we?"

. . .

An hour later, Rose was leaning against her favorite tree on the castle grounds, stuffed with delicious cake. Scorpius lay in the grass beside her, his body only inches from hers. Albus was on her other side, finishing off the last of the cake. "That was great, Rose," Scorpius said, giving her one of his famous smiles.

"Thanks," Rose said, butterflies dancing in her full stomach. She couldn't help wanting to reach out and take his hand. Her fingers itched to do so, but she clamped them together to prevent herself from doing anything stupid. Instead, she slid down into the grass so she was lying down as well. She felt Albus moving, and turned her head to look at him.

Her cousin had gotten to his feet, and said, "I need to go get some homework finished."

It was an obvious lie, and Rose knew it. She figured he was either going to get Scorpius's birthday present ready, check on the party room, or go find Brenda. Any of those was fine with Rose, because it meant alone time with Scorpius. "Have fun," she said, waving.

When Albus was out of earshot, Scorpius nudged Rose. "What's he really up to?"

"Who knows?" Rose answered honestly. "I have no idea what goes on in that head of his."

Warmth radiated from Scorpius, and Rose flipped over on her side to face him. He turned his head so he was looking at her, and Rose met his eyes. His grey eyes were filled with a gentle kindness that not everyone saw. Quite a few people actually thought Scorpius was a jerk, and Rose would be one of those people if she didn't see his true self. He put on a facade for the rest of the school. When he was with just Rose and Scorpius, he opened up so much more. It touched Rose when she realized that Scorpius treated her differently. She was worth his time, unlike more than half of the school. Maybe there wasn't anything truly special about Scorpius, but she felt lucky.

They looked at one another for ages, though to Rose it felt as though no time was passing. It was almost as if time had frozen. More than ever, she wanted to clasp his hand in hers, run her fingers through his blond locks, cuddle into his arms and never leave them. Impulsively, without thinking about, Rose's hand shot out and grabbed Scorpius's. Heart pounding, she realized what she had done. She looked at their hands intertwined, then back at Scorpius. He smiled faintly, and Rose looked up at the bright blue sky, thanking every being in the universe.

The next time Rose looked at her watch, it was just after five o'clock. She was shocked to see how much time had passed. Her hand was still in Scorpius's, and it felt so right that she didn't want to tell him they had to get up. She didn't want to take him to the Great Hall for dinner and then to his party. She wanted to stay this way forever. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option at the moment. She gently extracted her hand from Scorpius's and sat up, brushing strands of grass from her auburn hair.

Scorpius reached over and pulled some grass from the back of her head, which she had missed. "I kept meaning to tell you," Scorpius said suddenly. "You look really nice. Lily gave you another make over?"

"Yep," Rose answered, pleasure burning in her stomach.

"Trying to impress someone?" he asked casually.

"Something like that," Rose said.

"Who is it?"

"Oh, no one important."

"Since when do we keep secrets?" Scorpius demanded, sitting up.

"Since... Since I'm not sure how he feels, and I don't want to tell anyone and embarrass myself when it turns out he doesn't really like me as more than a friend," Rose said quickly.

"Who couldn't like you, Rose?" Scorpius asked, reaching over to pull another strand of grass out of her hair. "You're amazing."

"Thanks," Rose sighed, looking down at the ground, ripping pieces of grass to shreds in her hands. "Come on, we should go eat dinner." She grabbed the hand Scorpius offered and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. She was disappointed when Scorpius let go, and they walked silently up to the Great Hall together.

"So how much you want to bet that Albus ran off with Brenda?" Scorpius wondered aloud as they stepped into the Entrance Hall.

"I'm not letting you con more money out of me," Rose retorted. "But I'm sure we'll find them together."

When they entered the Great Hall, Rose scanned the Hufflepuff table and found Albus sitting somewhere in the middle, Brenda beside him. "There he is," she told Scorpius.

"We'll just eat by ourselves, then," Scorpius said, dragging Rose over to the Slytherin table. They sat down across from one another and ate their dinner, glancing at Albus every few minutes. He didn't even seem to remember they existed for all the attention he paid them.

"I'm so sick of couples," Rose said when she had finished eating.

"You're just jealous," Scorpius teased.

"Yeah, kind of," Rose replied. "Is it too much to ask that I get a boyfriend? I mean, honestly?"

"Like I said, Rose, who wouldn't like you? I don't think you're looking hard enough."

"I don't exactly see any guys lining up to date me."

Scorpius shrugged. "Sometimes that person is right under your nose."

Rose paused. Could Scorpius mean himself? Or was he just telling her that she was probably overlooking her perfect guy? "Maybe," she said finally. She took a final drink of pumpkin juice and stood up. "Come on, I have a present for you."

"A present? For little old me?" Scorpius joked.

"Yes, for you," Rose said. She needed to distract him for another twenty minutes or so, in order for the rest of the school to finish eating and either go to the room of requirement for Scorpius's birthday party, or to return to their common rooms and hate Scorpius in peace. Rose decided to give Scorpius his birthday present now, instead of on Monday. It would be the perfect distraction.

The box was wrapped with silver paper and tied with a green bow, which, while being Slytherin colors, also happened to be Scorpius's favorite colors. Unable to think of anything better, Rose had just gotten him new Quidditch gloves, made of dragon skin on the outside and soft cotton on the inside. His initials, S. D. M., were written in scrawling green thread on the outside. They were nice, but not as special as Rose had hoped.

When she handed him the box, he opened it eagerly. He was not disappointed in the least when he found the gloves, which made Rose feel relieved. He slipped them on immediately. "They're great," he said, flexing his hands. "Thanks, Rose." He reached over and drew her in for a hug.

"No problem," Rose said with a shrug. "Come on, I have one last thing for you."

By now, most of the party guests were in the Room of Requirement. For the most part, the guest list was mostly four years and higher, because none of the younger students really knew who Scorpius was, nor did they care. As they neared the Room of Requirement, Rose noticed that a look of realization came over Scorpius's face, but he didn't say anything. _So much for a surprise_, Rose thought. She opened the door, and did her best not to jump when the guests yelled, "Surprise!" She had always been easy to scare, even when she was expecting it.

"You threw me a surprise party?" Scorpius asked, putting a hand over his heart in a fake mixture of surprise and appreciation.

"Of course we did," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "We always do."

"Which is why it's not a surprise anymore," Scorpius answered, giving up the act.

"But it's still a ton of fun," Rose pointed out, gesturing to the intense party that was already going on around them. Rose was also surprised to find that Scorpius stayed by her side, rather than disappearing into the thick of things like he always did. They strolled around the room together, so Scorpius could see every aspect of his party. He seemed really pleased with how everything had turned out.

He turned to Rose and said, "You have to drink tonight."

"Excuse me?" Rose squeaked. "You know I don't like drinking."

"Come on, it's my birthday. Loosen up, have some fun."

"I'm having fun without an firewhiskey, thanks," Rose replied.

"Rose," Scorpius said pleadingly. "Come on, just have some."

Rose shifted on her feet, hesitant. She wanted to give in and do what Scorpius wanted, to make him happy. It was his birthday, after all. It was the least she could do, right? Just a glance at Scorpius made her resolve crumble. His beautiful grey eyes were begging.

"Alright," she said. "But only one."

"Deal," Scorpius said happily. He grabbed to cups and a bottle of firewhiskey, and lead Rose over to the make-out corner, because it was really the only place to sit. He poured a generous amount into a cup and held it out for Rose. She took it, already regretting letting Scorpius talk her into this. But if it made him happy, she would do it. She was about to take a sip when someone sat down next to her.

"Hey, Rose," someone said.

Rose turned to see Jacob Smith, the Gryffindor Golden Boy. Aside from Scorpius, he was definitely one of the hottest guys attending Hogwarts, and he had never looked twice at Rose before. "Hi," she said nervously, drawing her finger around the rim of her cup.

"How are you?" he asked, giving her a smile that made her heart flutter, though not quite in the same way that Scorpius did. Jacob made her nervous and feel crazy, while Scorpius made her knees go weak but didn't put her out of her mind. There was something about the both of them that just made her instantly drawn to them. They were similar, but so different. For instance, Scorpius had always found her interesting, whereas Jacob had never noticed her before. Why was that?

_The makeover_, Rose realized. Lily had made her noticeable. But at the moment, the fact that Jacob was only talking to her because she was cute didn't bother her. Jacob thought she was cute. How many girls wished for that?

"Fine," Rose said, gripping her cup. She looked down at the Firewhiskey, and took a quick drink. She felt a little better almost instantly.

"Need something, Jacob?" Scorpius asked in his politest voice. Rose could tell he wasn't happy to see the Gryffindor seventh-year.

"Just chatting with Rose," Jacob answered easily.

"She's kind of busy right now," Scorpius said pointedly.

Jacob got the hint, but didn't look ready to leave. Rose looked back and forth between the two of them, trying to decide what to do. Scorpius's smile had fallen into a frown, and Rose didn't want him to be upset about anything tonight. "Maybe we can talk later?" Rose asked Jacob, giving him a small smile.

"Sure," Jacob said, smirking. He gave Scorpius a look that Rose didn't quite understand, but he got up and left, leaving Rose and Scorpius alone. Rose let out a small breath that Scorpius didn't notice.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked, examining Scorpius's face.

"Fine," Scorpius said after a moment. "I just don't like him that much."

"I can tell," Rose said. She took another sip of Firewhiskey, which she found she liked the taste of.

An hour and a half later, Rose had drained four cups of Firewhiskey, and was officially drunk, as she had never had anything to drink before. The alcohol took it's toll almost immediately, and she wasn't entirely in control of what she was doing. Past the drunken haze, Rose decided it would be best if she went to bed. She didn't want to give herself time to do anything stupid. "I think I should call it a night," she told Scorpius, who was a lot less drunk than she was.

"Are you sure?" Scorpius asked.

Rose tripped trying to stand up. "Positive," she said. "Good night," she said, bending down. Her intention was to give him a peck on the cheek, something she probably wouldn't have done if she had been sober. Scorpius looked up as she was leaning over, and their lips met. Scorpius's arm went around her waist to steady her, and Rose pulled away, face flushed with embarrassment.

"I am so sorry," she gasped.

"Don't worry about it," Scorpius said with a laugh. "Go to bed."

"I will," Rose said, still bright red. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Scorpius said, shrugging.

"Good night."

"Night," Rose said, hurrying away from Scorpius. How had that happened? She touched her lips with her fingers, a feeling of happiness welling inside her. She had kissed Scorpius. And he had been okay with it. Too bad it wasn't going to happen again. She sighed as she left the Room of Requirement.

"Rose?" a voice called.

"Hmm?" Rose asked, turning around wobbly.

It was Jacob. "Should we have that talk now?"

"I really should go to bed," Rose said, not willing to tell him how drunk she was. But he could probably tell.

"Come on," Jacob coaxed. "Come hang out for a little bit."

Rose glanced down the hall, the way to the Ravenclaw Tower. "Maybe for a little bit."

**A/N: Just wanted to say that I actually don't approve of underage drinking... It's cool if you do, but I don't. However, Scorpius just seems like one of the people who would, and in the case of Rose, I don't think she would have been bold enough to do that without being drunk. So I made her drink. And that's the story.**

**Anywho, please leave a review, I'd really appreciate it! :)**


	6. Do You Love Me?

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I really love opening my e-mail and finding reviews. It's pretty awesome.**

**One of the Boys**

**Chapter Six – Do You Love Me? **

Rose woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. She fell out of bed and began groping around under her bed for the leftover Hangover Potion she had from the batch she'd made for Scorpius and Albus. When she found it and had taken a few sips, her head felt a lot better. She let out a sigh of relief, and stored the potion back under her bed. Now that she could think straight, memories from the night before came flashing back, one in particular overpowering the others.

_I kissed Scorpius_, she remembered. Her heart began to beat wildly, and it took her a few moments to calm down. She thought hard for a minute, trying to remember what else had happened. Then she remembered her trip with Jacob after saying good-bye to Scorpius.

"_Let's go somewhere quieter," Jacob suggested, wrapping his arm around Rose's waist. This gave her a bad feeling immediately, and she began to protest._

"_Maybe I should just go to bed," Rose said quickly._

"_You promised we'd talk," Jacob pointed out._

"_Why do we need to go somewhere secluded to talk?" Rose shot back. She knew that Jacob wasn't interested in talking at all. He just wanted to get Rose to make out with him. But the feeling of Scorpius's lips still lingered, and just the thought of kissing Jacob now made her stomach church. The sick feeling didn't go away, though. Rose let out a moan and clutched her stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick."_

_Jacob's arm was away from her like she was on fire. Without waiting to find out what he planned on doing next, Rose turned and ran as fast as she could to the nearest bathroom. She barely made it in time, and spent the next ten minutes retching, feeling miserable. When her stomach was finally empty, she returned to the Ravenclaw tower and crawled into bed. _

Rose shook her head in disgust. She couldn't believe she had even agreed to go with Jacob in the first place, even if she hadn't planned on doing anything. How stupid could she get? At least she didn't have anything to regret. Except drinking half a bottle of Firewhiskey just because Scorpius asked her to. She wasn't going to do that again any time soon. _Scorpius_, she thought, smacking her forehead. His head was probably killing him as well. Rose reached under her bed again for the Hangover Potion. After changing into jeans and a t-shirt, she fixed her still-glossy curls and slipped the potion into her pocket.

Rose was glad to find Scorpius in the Great Hall, eating breakfast with a pained look on his face. If he hadn't been there for breakfast, she would have had to go to the Slytherin common room, something she hated doing. Everyone always stared at her, and she didn't enjoy all the awkward attention. She slid onto the bench in front of Scorpius and held the bottle out for him. He took it quickly, downed a mouthful, and handed it back. "Thanks," he said gratefully.

"No big deal," she responded with a shrug. Suddenly she wondered if Scorpius even remembered what had happened the night before. Had he had more to drink after she left? Did he do something that would make him completely forget it? For all she knew, he had hooked up with some random girl once Rose was gone. "So what did you do after I went to bed last night?"

"Hung around with Albus," Scorpius said. "I managed to pry him away from Brenda. I had to remind him it was my birthday party a few hundred times, but it finally got through to him."

"Your birthday isn't until tomorrow," Albus reminded.

"I'm still your best mate," Scorpius answered. "Mates before dates, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," Albus said, stabbing a sausage with his fork. He glanced over his shoulder at the Hufflepuff table where Brenda was sitting with her friends.

"Oh, go on," Scorpius grumbled, waving his hand at Albus. "But I except you around all day tomorrow."

"Deal," Albus said, getting to his feet."

"Alone again," Rose sighed. "I miss it being just the three of us."

"Our little boy is growing up," Scorpius sniffed. "But it's not so bad. We can still have fun."

"How?" Rose asked.

"I have a few ideas," Scorpius said, his grey eyes bright.

"Rose!"

Rose turned in her seat to see Ana coming towards her. "What's up?"

"We have practice today. Did you forget?"

Rose smacked her forehead again. "Yeah, I did. Sorry," she told Scorpius, "We'll hang out later."

"Have fun," Scorpius said glumly, pushing scrambled eggs around on his plate. Rose hated to leave him, but she would be dead if she skipped the first practice of the year. She swung her legs over the bench, and followed Ana out of the Great Hall.

"What's up with Scorpius?" Ana asked.

"Lonely. Albus keeps ditching us for Brenda, and now I have to go to practice."

"I don't think it's Albus he really cares about," Ana said.

"What?"

Ana hesitated, then said, "Never mind."

As they reached the Quidditch Pitch, Hugo was leaving. "Hey, Rose," he said.

"Hey. I forgot to ask; Did you make the team?" Rose asked.

"Of course," he smirked. Most of the Gryffindor team was made up of the Potter-Weasley clan. They were a very talented team, but, in Rose's opinion, the Ravenclaw team was even better. "Going to practice?" her brother asked.

"Yeah," Rose said.

"Have fun," he said, waving as he moved past Ana and Rose. The girls went into the locker rooms and changed into their practice clothes. Hayley came in just as they finished, and they sat on the bench to wait for her.

"I'm kind of nervous," Ana said.

"Why?" Rose asked, turning to look at Ana. The other girl's face was filled with worry.

"This is my first time ever being on a sports team."

"You'll do fine," Rose assured her, giving Ana a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"I hope so," Ana said.

"You will," Rose promised. Hayley finished changing, and they went outside. The rest of the team, Adam, Mark, Justin, and Conner, were already waiting.

…

Two hours later, Rose was changing back into her normal clothes, listening to Ana complain. "I'm going to be sore for the rest of my life."

"You get used to it," Rose said for the millionth time.

"I hope so," Ana said grimly, rubbing her back. "I'm going to go find James."

"Have fun." Rose intended to go find Scorpius, and was glad Ana was leaving. She pulled her blue t-shirt over her head, ran a brush through her hair, and began walking up the sloping lawns to the castle. On the way, she listed the places Scorpius could be in her head. She would check the kitchens first, then the joint common room, and then the Slytherin common room.

After twenty minutes of searching, Rose still hadn't found him. Unsure where else to look, she decided to give up and get some homework done instead. She got her bag out of the Ravenclaw tower and went to the library.

She had just sat down when a voice startled. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

It was Scorpius. "I was looking for _you_," Rose said.

"No wonder we couldn't find each other," Scorpius said. "This is the third time I've checked the library."

"I just got here," Rose answered.

"Were you planning on studying?" Scorpius asked, eying her books.

"I was going to," Rose said, "Unless you have a better idea?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," he said. "I was thinking we could go swimming in the Black Lake?"

Rose made a face. "That water is so gross."

"You're just afraid of water that doesn't come from a tap."

"Am not!" Rose protested.

"Prove it," Scorpius teased.

"Fine," she said, standing up. "Let's go."

Scorpius jumped to his feet, but before they left the library, a first year boy scuttled up to them. "Professor McGonagall wants to see you," he said shakily, his eyes never leaving the ground. He hurried off again almost before he had finished his sentence. Rose and Scorpius exchanged looks.

"What did you do this time?" Rose asked.

"I have done anything," Scorpius said defensively. "This year."

"Well, let's go find out what she wants."

Rose followed Scorpius to the Headmaster's Office, where Professor McGonagall was waiting. She had a worried look on her face. She began ushering Scorpius up the stairs, then hesitated and turned to Rose. "Perhaps you should come too, Miss Weasley. A bit of support, you see."

"What's going on?" Scorpius asked. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"No, but I've received some troubling news," Professor McGonagall said. "Come, have a seat." They entered her office, and sat down in the seats that faced her desk, while she sat down in the arm chair across from them. "Mr. Malfoy, I'm not entirely sure how to tell you this..."

"What is it?" Scorpius asked, his voice hinting at annoyance, and even worry. Rose had never seen Professor McGonagall act like that before.

"Your mother is in the hospital."

Scorpius's mouth fell open, and Rose glanced quickly between him and McGonagall, trying to keep track of what was going on. Why was Mrs. Malfoy in the hospital? She had always seemed to be in perfect health before. Something terrible must have happened. "What's happened to her?" Rose asked.

"I'm not sure," Professor McGonagall said. "A letter arrived for you this morning, and your father wants you to join him at the hospital," she told Scorpius.

Scorpius nodded slowly, still trying to comprehend what was going on. "But what about classes?"

McGongall waved her hand impatiently. "You can afford to miss a few days. You have the grades."

"Can Rose come with me?" Scorpius blurted. McGonagall gave her nod of approval.

"Scorpius, I don't think-" Rose began.

"Please," Scorpius said, taking her hand. His eyes were pleading. "I need you. I can't go alone and find out...," he faltered. "Please come with."

"I'll tell your teachers where you've gone," McGonagall said. She went over to her fireplace and sprinkled a bit of dust on it. Immediately, an emerald green fire roared to life, and McGonagall silently held out a bag of floo powder for them to use. Scorpius grabbed a handful first, stepped into the fire, and shouted, "St. Mungo's!" It was the only wizarding hospital in Britain. Rose followed, disliking the twisting and turning sensation before she stumbled out of the fireplace in St. Mungo's, into Scorpius's arms.

"Sorry," she said, untangling herself.

"It's okay," Scorpius said. He was pale, and Rose knew he was afraid to find out what was going on. Impulsively, she slid her hand into his, and he gripped it gratefully. They stood in line behind several other people, waiting for their turn to talk to the bored-looking secretary. "Can I help you?" she asked in a nasally voice when it was their turn.

"I'm looking for Astoria Malfoy," Scorpius said.

The witch ran a finger down a long list, pausing towards the bottom. "Room 421," she said. "Next."

Scorpius and Rose moved out of the way, and headed towards the elevators. Level 4 was for Spell Damage. Rose wondered what could have landed Mrs. Malfoy there. "Your mum will be fine," Rose said quietly, as they stepped into the elevator. "They'll fix her right up."

"We don't even know what's wrong with her," Scorpius replied, not sounding hopeful at all.

"We'll find out right now," Rose promised. The elevator stopped and there was a ding as the door slid open. They stepped out into the cool, quiet hallway, and began searching for room 421. The first room on their right was room 400, and across from that, on the left, room 401. They quickened their pace, and about halfway down the hall was room 421. Scorpius hesitated, his hand hovering over the doorknob. Rose released his other hand and took a step back. "I'm going to wait out here," she told him, not wanting to invade on anything personal. Scorpius nodded, then turned the knob and disappeared into the room.

Rose slid down to a sitting position, leaning against the wall across from Mrs. Malfoy's room. The minutes ticked by, and Scorpius didn't return. Finally, when she thought she was going to die of boredom and wonder, Scorpius came out into the hall. From the look on his face, Rose knew immediately that something was wrong. "Is she okay?" Rose asked tentatively.

"She's under intensive care. They're not sure what's wrong with her, but there's some sort of poison spreading. They're trying to stop it." Scorpius sat down next to her and buried his head in his hands. Rose wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay," she whispered. "Your mum is going to be fine. These are highly trained doctors that can use magic. Think about those muggles who don't have wizard doctors to cure them. Your mum will live. You'll see."

Scorpius let his hands fall, and looked at Rose, his grey eyes shiny with unshed tears. "I love you, Rose."

"I love you, too," Rose murmured, scooting closer to him. Despite the fact that they were in a hospital, and Scorpius's mother was potentially dying, Rose felt good sitting there.

"No, that's not what I mean," Scorpius said, shaking his head. "I don't know why you've never realized it before. I love you, as more than a friend."

Before Rose had a chance to respond, the door opened and Draco Malfoy stepped out into the hall. His cold, grey gaze fell upon them, and he sneered. "Get up, Scorpius. What are you thinking? A Weasley? They're all worthless blood-traitors. She should be far below your notice, boy." Draco's hate of the Weasleys, Ron Weasley especially, and the fear of losing his wife was boiling over. Scorpius rose and went to stand by his father, like an obedient puppy. Draco's hard eyes turned to Rose. "Get out of my sight, girl." To Scorpius, he said, "I don't want you around them anymore. And especially not the Potter boy."

Rose got to her feet and stared at Scorpius, almost unable to comprehend what had just happened. In one moment, Draco had severed their relationship, and Scorpius was letting him. "You're not going to say anything?" Rose demanded. Scorpius wouldn't even look at her. Voice quavering, she asked, "Do you love me or not, Scorpius?"

His eyes flashed to hers. "I-"

"Don't let him do this. I know he's your father, but you have to stand up to him sometime," Rose said. Scorpius didn't say anything, to either Rose or Draco. Disappointment flooded through Rose as she realized how close she had been to Scorpius, and how he had been snatched away seconds later. "Fine," she said in the best disgusted tone she could muster, though the tears that began dripping down her face didn't help. As she turned to leave, she noticed the pained look on Scorpius's face, but she ignored it. _He doesn't really care about me_, she thought.

**A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to update, I had absolutely zero inspiration, again. The next chapter is probably going to take me forever as well. I'm sure everyone is going to hate this chapter, but please leave me a review anyways, eh? I'd really appreciate it.**


	7. Forgiving is Hard to Do

*****UPDATED VERSION*****

**A/N: Wow, thanks for the flood of reviews! And here I was, thinking you would all hate me. 0:-)**

**I wanted to let jalapeno1011** **know that I seriously considered your suggestion for this chapter, but in the end, it went a different direction. **

**Thank you once again to Ali, my lovely reviewer that always manages to put a big smile on my face. Also, thank you to everyone else! I feel bad for not mentioning anyone but Ali, so thank you to these people who have reviewed my story multiple times, and for continuing to read it:**

**.x**

**VeniVidiViciMR**

**Loslote**

**weasleytwins12**

**Converse101**

**and everyone else. :)**

**One of the Boys**

**Chapter Seven – Forgiving is Hard to Do**

Tears flooded down Rose's cheeks as she stepped into the elevator. She cast a last look at Scorpius, who was going back into his mother's hospital room. On the ground floor, she hurried to the women's room and locked herself in a stall until she had cried herself out. She pulled some toilet paper off the roll and blew her nose loudly. She then mopped the excess tears off her face with her sleeve, and stepped out of the stall.

One look in the mirror told her that she was not a pretty sight. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, her cheeks covered in tear tracks. She sniffled, then splashed water on her face. It made her look a tiny bit better. She left the bathroom, and went over to the fireplace that held a cup of floo powder. Instead of returning to school, Rose said, "Diagon Alley!" and twisted and turned through the never-ending loop to the hidden alleyway. She wanted time to recover before she returned to school. Luckily, she had her own bank account now, and was able to retrieve some money from Gringotts.

With her money, she went and got a table at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. A young wizard, about nineteen, came and took her order. She asked for a cherry and chocolate sundae with extra whipped cream and nuts. The cup of vanilla ice cream came with equal amounts of cherry and chocolate syrup, and a mountain of whipped cream, with nuts dabbled all around. It was delicious, but not good enough to make her forget her heartache.

When she had finished eating, she felt recovered enough to return to Hogwarts – or as recovered as she was ever going to be. She pushed her chair back, got to her feet, and trudged to the nearest fireplace. With the floo powder, she transported herself back into McGonagall's office. Professor McGonagall looked up in surprise when Rose slid into the room.

"Miss Weasley, I expected you to be gone longer."

"Mrs. Malfoy was doing okay, so I decided to come back to class," Rose lied. She got the feeling that Professor McGonagall could tell she was lying, but the Headmistress didn't say anything. Rose slid past the teacher and hurried out of the office. When she was out in the hall, she wasn't sure what to do. She didn't even know what time it was. She wasn't wearing a watch. Instead of wandering around the school, she decided to go to the Ravenclaw tower. That would tell her what time it was and where she was suppose to be.

When she got to the common room, the position of the sun and the lack of people told her it was dinner time. Professor McGonagall must have been late leaving for dinner, which was why she had been in her office when Rose arrived. The ice cream had filled Rose up, and she wasn't in the mood for dinner. She climbed the stairs to her dormitory and fell into bed, still dressed in her jeans. She wondered if she should tell Albus about what had happened. After all, Draco had included him in the ban.

She dragged herself off her bed and changed into her pajamas, but didn't feel like going to find Albus. She didn't even feel like brushing her hair or teeth, so she fell back into bed, tired and worn out from all the crying she had done that day. Her eyes closed, and she fell into a less than peaceful sleep.

She woke the next morning feeling more exhausted than she had the night before. She looked over and saw Becky standing next to her bed. The other girl had obviously shaken her awake. "Thanks," Rose said, sitting up. Her head was pounding, but not from alcohol this time. Her throat felt raw and sore, and the room seemed to be overheated. She felt horrible. She knew she was sick, so she didn't even bother getting dressed.

"Can you tell Trewlaney I went to the Hospital Wing?" she asked Becky.

The ever-silent blonde girl nodded, and Rose left the dormitory. Most of the Ravenclaws were already at breakfast, so she only had to walk past two first year boys in her pajamas. The way to the Hospital Wing was silent. When she arrived, Madame Pomfrey took one look at her and put her to bed. Rose didn't complain, but spent the day drifting in and out of sleep.

The third time she woke up, Albus was grinning down at her. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," she croaked.

"How are you feeling?"

"Horrible," she answered. _You don't know the half of it_, she added silently to herself.

"We need to talk, Rose," Albus said. "Scorpius got back in time for-"

"Don't mention that jerk to me," Rose snapped, coughing as the air hit her scratchy throat.

"Look, the point is, he told me what happened."

"Everything?"

"Everything," Albus nodded. "You can't stay mad at him. You know exactly what Draco Malfoy is like. You honestly think that fighting with his dad would have done Scorpius any good? Because you know that it wouldn't have. What he did was the best thing; Now Draco doesn't have anything to be angry with Scorpius for."

"But-" Rose started.

"Don't argue," Albus answered. "You know it's true." His tone softened. "He loves you, Rose. He's told me too many times for my liking."

"Did everyone know but me?" Rose demanded in a hoarse tone.

"For the most part," Albus said with a shrug. "It was kind of obvious."

"Not to me it wasn't!"

"It was to the rest of the world," Albus muttered.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Rose asked. "Because I don't feel good, and I'd like to get some sleep. And tell Scorpius not to bother coming up here because I don't want to see him."

"Are you really mad at him?" Albus asked, looking a little surprised.

"Yes," Rose said. She was too embarrassed to tell Albus this, even though he was her cousin, but Scorpius's silence had pretty much torn her heart in two. Hearing what Albus had to say didn't make it much better. She hadn't been asking for him to have a full-out war with his father. He could have said _something_. Anything would have been better than the silence she had been treated to.

Rose rolled over to face the opposite side of the room, dismissing Albus. She listed to him sigh, then get up and leave the Hospital Wing. The arguing had worn her out, and she drifted off to sleep again. When she woke up, the orange glow coming from the windows told her it was dinner time. She didn't feel very hungry, but when Madame Pomfrey brought her a bowl of soup, she forced herself to eat it. After all, she hadn't had anything since the ice cream the day before. The soup made her feel sleepy, and the next thing she knew, it was morning.

Madame Pomfrey was hovering over her, a thermometer in hand. "Time to check your temperature," she said. She placed the glass stick under Rose's tongue, and they waited a few moments. When she took it back and checked it, she happily announced, "98.9. You'll be back to normal in no time."

"Thanks," Rose said. She glanced around and noticed a glass of water on her nightstand. She took it and drained the glass, then settled back against the pillows. Madame Pomfrey hadn't said anything about sending her back to class, so she was going to relax. She tried not to think about Scorpius, but she couldn't help it. Her thoughts went back to her conversation with Albus the day before. She still didn't want to see Scorpius. Her heart felt raw and she wasn't ready to forgive him. Sure, maybe she was being silly. But it was how she felt, and Rose couldn't change that.

She spent the rest of the afternoon doing homework that Becky had brought her and staring unhappily at the ceiling. She imagined what she would do if Scorpius came into the Hospital Wing. She'd ignore him, turn him away, smack him. The daydream changed each time she thought about it. But she knew what she would really do. She would melt in the palm of his hand, exactly like he wanted. She wasn't going to let that happen, and the best way to avoid this situation was to avoid Scorpius altogether.

That proved to be difficult. The following day, Wednesday, Rose was released from the Hospital Wing with a bill of health from Madame Pomfrey. She went to the Ravenclaw tower to get her book bag, and then followed the sea of students down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Instead of sitting at the Slytherin table like she was used to, Rose sat down awkwardly at the Ravenclaw table. She was almost happy when Ana joined her.

"I saw that you were alone, and...," Ana trailed off awkwardly. There was no need for her to voice what she was thinking. Rose knew. She was obviously in a fight with Scorpius, and since he and Albus were the only real friends she had, she was now alone. "Hey, why don't you eat at the Gryffindor table? With me and James? And the rest of your cousins?"

The thought hadn't occurred to Rose, but she liked that idea better than eating alone. She stood up and followed Ana over to the Gryffindor table where James, Lily, Lucy, Hugo, Roxanne, and Fred were seated. "Morning," she told them.

"Good morning," they chorused. She saw some looks exchanged between them, but they knew better than to ask her about Scorpius. While the rest of her family chattered through the breakfast hour, Rose was mostly silent, absorbed in her own thoughts. After a while, she noticed that her brother and cousins had fallen silent. She glanced up at them, and saw them staring at something over her shoulder. Rose twisted in her seat to see Scorpius standing awkwardly in the aisle. She also noticed that most of the Great Hall had fallen silent. Was she really a form of entertainment for them?

"Can I talk to you, Rose?" Scorpius asked quietly.

"No," Rose said, her voice equally low. "I don't want to talk to you again, ever." She grabbed her book bag and stormed out of the Great Hall. She was relieved when she looked over her shoulder and saw that Scorpius hadn't followed her. She turned down a rarely used hallway and slumped against the wall. Rose dissolved into tears, though she wasn't sure why. She knew Scorpius was trying to apologize.

_What is wrong with me? _Rose asked herself. She wiped her tears away, unable to figure out why she was crying. Because Scorpius had hurt her, and she still wasn't over it? _I'm being stupid_.

Rose gathered her book bag and went upstairs to the tower that her Divination class was located, waiting until the bell rang for the ladder to be lowered. When she and the other students climbed the ladder and began to take their seats, Rose hurried over to Becky. "Do you mind if I sit here today?"

Becky shook her head, and Rose sat down, relieved. Scorpius would have to work with whoever Becky's partner was. Scorpius came in just before the bell, and glanced around the classroom. His eyes met Rose's for a brief second, and when he realized that she had traded partners, he sat down across from Carmen.

The brunette looked surprised to see Scorpius as her partner, but immediately began twirling her hair and flashing him smiles. The green-eyed monster reared it's ugly head, but Rose pushed it back down. So Carmen was flirting with Scorpius. Big deal. But she knew that she cared, a lot. Class had barely begun, but Rose wanted to get out of there. "Professor?" she called.

"Yes?" Professor Trelawney asked.

"I'm still not feeling well. May I be excused, please?" Rose lied.

"I suppose," Trelawney said, pursing her lips, "But you have to remember to make up your homework."

"I will," Rose promised.

To Rose's horror, Professor Trelawney then said, "Mr. Malfoy, could you please walk Miss Weasley to the Hospital Wing?"

"Alright," Scorpius said, getting to his feet. Rose stood up as well, refusing to meet his eyes. They climbed down the ladder, and began descending the staircases.

"You don't have to walk me," Rose said after a moment. "I know how to get to the Hospital Wing."

"You're not going to the Hospital Wing," Scorpius answered. "I know you. You're running away from me."

"What makes you think you're so special?" Rose asked, a flash of anger rising inside her.

"Because if you didn't like me, you wouldn't be so upset with me."

Rose had no response for that.

Scorpius grabbed her hand and pulled her around to face him. "I love you, Rose. I really do."

Rose raised her eyes cautiously, bracing herself for the grey gaze she knew all too well. He was smiling at her, his eyes bright, and Rose melted, just like she knew she would. "I love you, too."

"That's all I wanted to hear," Scorpius murmured, brushing Rose's hair back. Her face burned where his hand touched, and her heart was beating wildly. Without hesitating, she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against Scorpius's, their first real kiss. It was everything she had always imagined, and more.

"You want to skip class?" Scorpius asked, wrapping his arms around her.

"Duh."

**A/N: Note that this is an updated version of the original chapter (even if it's only four or five lines). If you've already reviewed Chapter 7, you won't be able to again. If you really want, feel free to PM me. Otherwise, don't worry about it. :)**


	8. Cloud Nine's Crash Landing

**A/N: So I was sadly disappointed with the lack of reviews this time around. If I don't get many reviews for this chapter either, I'll just delete this chapter and call it completed. If I do get reviews, I'll continue as planned. **

**One of the Boys**

**Chapter Eight – Cloud Nine's Crash Landing**

By the following day, the news that Scorpius Malfoy was dating Rose Weasley was all over school. Very few people seemed to be surprised. Rose couldn't stop smiling, and knew she looked like an idiot, but she didn't care. She kept her hand intertwined with Scorpius's where ever they went, except for when it was necessary to let go, like eating or class.

Albus spent even less time with them now, hanging around with Brenda all day. Rose didn't really care, though. She was glad that he was leaving her alone with Scorpius. She knew she was turning into the typical girlfriend, wanting to spend all her time with him and no one else. Luckily, he seemed to feel the same way.

While they were suppose to be in Divination, Scorpius led her to a rarely used, deserted corridor where they alternated between whispering and kissing. Scorpius played with a strand of Rose's auburn hair. "Why did Lily give you these makeovers?" he asked.

"So you'd notice me," Rose admitted.

"I noticed you way before that," Scorpius replied, leaning in for another kiss. Rose's heart fluttered, and she couldn't believe this was real.

"You told me I was 'one of the boys'," Rose protested.

"I meant that in a good way," Scorpius said, a little exasperated. "I didn't want you to go redesign yourself. You're beautiful just being yourself."

"Thanks," Rose said, blushing.

"And I?" Scorpius prompted.

"Are the fittest boy at Hogwarts," Rose promised.

"Thanks," Scorpius said, rewarding her with another kiss. Rose wrapped her arms around his neck and kept him there, not wanting to stop just yet. His arms snaked around her waist, pulling her closer, a protective air to him. When Rose pulled away, her face was flushed, and her heart was beating faster than ever.

"Are you okay?" Scorpius asked, examining her face, slight amusement evident in his voice.

"Fine," Rose replied, slightly annoyed that Scorpius was laughing at her. She laid her head down on his chest and listened to his heart, which was beating at a normal rate. Clearly she didn't make him as nervous as he made her. Then again, he had plenty of practice with this sort of thing. The thought made Rose bitter for a moment, but she got over it.

"What are you thinking about?" Scorpius asked softly.

"You."

"Me?"

Rose nodded. "I still can't believe this is real," she admitted. "Why me?"

"Because you saw me when I was invisible."

Rose snorted. "You were never invisible." The moment Scorpius stepped into Hogwarts, he had been surrounded by girls of all ages. He still was.

"I mean, you saw me for who I really was, the person that I kept hidden. You saw right through my act," Scorpius said, thinking back to their first year.

"Not right away," Rose remembered. "I thought you were an obnoxious jerk."

"A lot of people still do."

"A lot of _boys_ still do. All the girls think you're simply perfect."

"Do I sense jealousy in your tone?" Scorpius teased.

"Of course you do," Rose sniffed. "I'm not okay with you being more popular than me."

Scorpius burst into laughter, and Rose smiled. Their easy friendship was still there, just with added benefits. Such as Scorpius wrapping her in his arms and planting kisses on the top of her head as she spoke. Or stroking her hair. Or being able to listen to the steady rhythm of his heart.

"How would you feel about going to Hogsmeade?" Scorpius asked suddenly.

"In three weeks?" Rose said, confused.

"No. Like, tomorrow," Scorpius said. "We'd have to sneak out."

Rose hesitated. Just because she was dating Scorpius now didn't mean she wanted to start breaking all her morals. She had skipped class a few times now, but wasn't planning on doing it again. She didn't slack off, she didn't break curfew, and she certainly didn't sneak out of the castle. Finally, she said, "What for?"

"Just to spend some time together," Scorpius said casually.

"I don't think I should miss anymore classes," Rose said slowly.

"We could go after classes are over. Maybe have dinner down there?" Scorpius suggested.

"Alright," Rose decided. "But just this once. I can't keep breaking the rules for you. I know this is stupid, but I'm so afraid of getting in trouble. Skipping class is one thing, but sneaking out the castle? You're crazy," she said, shaking her head.

"Don't worry, we won't get caught," Scorpius said confidently.

"So you say," Rose replied. The bell rang then, signaling the end of class. Scorpius climbed to his feet and helped Rose to her's. Despite the fact that they had Charms together, Scorpius gave her one last kiss before they stepped into the hallway and the public eye. They grasped each other hands and pushed through the swarm of students to the Charms classroom.

. . .

The next day, Rose had trouble sitting still through all her classes. She noticed that Scorpius was watching her carefully, and she did her best not to seem overexcited. She was sneaking out of the caste, to Hogsmeade, with Scorpius. Could anything possibly be as appealing? Rose didn't think so. After Defense Against the Dark Arts, she stepped into the bathroom for a few minutes and took calming breathes until she was less excited.

She put on a laid-back facade throughout the rest of the day, but she wasn't sure she fooled Scorpius. They two periods apart. Scorpius had free period while Rose had Ancient Runes, and Rose had free period while Scorpius had Astronomy. As they passed each other in the hall, Rose going to the Ravenclaw tower and Scorpius to class, he grabbed her arm. "Looks like you're excited for our date tonight," he whispered in her ear, making her shiver.

Rose was going on a date with Scorpius Malfoy. This was all real, not a dream. She smiled at him and said, "Yeah, I guess." She didn't know why she felt the need to hide her real feelings, but she did. She didn't want Scorpius to know how nervous and excited she was for their upcoming evening. "See you after class," she said, waving instead of letting him kiss her cheek.

_Why did I just do that?_ Rose asked herself, slapping herself on the forehead as she rounded the corner. She and Scorpius weren't fighting anymore and she was still being an idiot. What was it about Scorpius that made her act like such an idiot? When she reached the Ravenclaw Tower, she went straight to her dormitory and dropped her bag at the foot of her bed.

Instead of doing homework, like she should have been, Rose spent her free period picking out something to wear on her date with Scorpius. She finally decided on a pair of (tight) jeans that Lily had given her, her favorite green t-shirt, and a pair of Converse. She decided she wouldn't wear any makeup, except for a bit of lip gloss, but she wouldn't put that on until later. When the free period was over, Rose felt slightly more relaxed.

She met Scorpius and Albus in their Herbology class, and even though she had picked out her clothes, she still had trouble focusing. Professor Longbottom reprimanded her more than once, which embarrassed her to no end. She was not a student that got in trouble for not paying attention. Luckily, Professor Longbottom didn't give her detention for all the things she screwed up.

He did, however, keep her after class. "Rose I don't understand what's wrong with you today," he said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. Being an old family friend, Rose had known him since she could remember.

"I don't know, Professor," she lied. She didn't want word of her new boyfriend getting back to her parents just yet. She wanted to tell them herself, but she didn't want to tell them quite yet. It was too soon. And she was worried that they would react the way Scorpius's dad did. After all, they didn't like the Malfoys anymore than the Malfoys liked them.

The teacher stared at her for a long moment, then said, "Alright. Try to be more focused next class."

"I will," she promised, turning on her heel and hurrying from the room. Scorpius was waiting for her outside.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing," Rose said, shrugging. How was she suppose to explain to him that he had asked why she was messing up in class, and the fact that Scorpius was just standing there was what had caused it. She couldn't tell him that.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Not really," she answered, motioning to her robes. "And neither are you."

"Right," he laughed. "We'll go change, and I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall?"

"Sure," she said. She reached over and slipped her hand into his, and they walked together until they reached the grand staircase in the hall. Scorpius went down to the dungeons, while Rose went upstairs to the Ravenclaw tower. She threw her outfit on quickly, smeared the lip gloss over her mouth, and ran a brush through her hair quickly. She paused in front of the mirror to make sure she looked okay, then rushed to meet Scorpius in the Entrance Hall.

"Hey," he smiled, holding his hand out. He looked amazing, in a simple pair of jeans and a black, button-up shirt. Rose slid her hand into his and let him lead the way. Instead of going out the double doors to the castle grounds, Scorpius took her up to the seventh floor, to the Room of Requirement.

"How is this going to get us to Hogsmeade?" Rose asked as Scorpius began pacing in front of the wall.

"Hasn't your dad told you about how they linked the Room of Requirement to the Hogs Head during the War?" Scorpius asked, opening his eyes as a door appeared in the wall.

"Oh, that's right," Rose said, feeling a bit stupid. "We're going to the Hogs Head?"

"We're not staying," Scorpius promised, "Just passing through."

"Alright," Rose said, warily. They entered the Room of Requirement and went over to the painting that hung on the wall. Instead of a painting of Ariana Dumbledore (which had been burned in the enchanted fire), the painting was now of Aberforth Dumbledore (now deceased). He gave them a kind of cross between a glower and a smile, before the painting swung open to reveal a passage behind it.

"Ladies first," Scorpius said, taking a step back.

Rose climbed into the passage, wishing Scorpius had gone first. She didn't know what they were going to find at the end of the tunnel, and if it was trouble, she didn't want to be the first one to discover it. But she kept her fear to herself, and kept crawling. After around ten minutes, they came to the end of the tunnel. The painting in the Hogs Head swung open, revealing a completely desert bar.

"Great," Scorpius said as they climbed out. "Complete undetected." The painting swung shut behind them, and Scorpius took Rose's hand and led her out into the street, where Rose began to relax again. "Where do you want to go first?"

"Let's go get something to eat," Rose said, beginning to feel hungry.

"Alright," Scorpius agreed. They went down the street, around the corner, and walked for a little ways to find the Three Broomsticks. No one looked suspicious as they walked in and were seated at a table, so Rose didn't worry about being reported to Professor McGonagall.

"What can I get for you?" the waitress, Madame Rosmerta's niece, asked. She was barely out of Hogwarts herself, but Rose didn't recognize her from school. Jenna, as her name tag read, couldn't take her eyes off Scorpius, annoying Rose to no end. Scorpius, however, didn't seem to notice. They ordered their food, and when he didn't say anything more, Jenna left looking disappointed.

"Do you have any idea, the affect you have on people?" Rose demanded when she was gone.

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked, looking confused.

"She was practically falling all over herself to get your attention."

"Don't be jealous," Scorpius laughed. "I hardly noticed her. You're all I care about."

Rose stared at the table, feeling bad for her unnecessary jealousy. She needed to stop freaking out every time another girl was around. No one could steal Scorpius from her if he didn't want to be stolen, right? They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes, until Scorpius managed to get her talking again.

Their food came, and their conversation ended until they had finished. Scorpius paid for their meals, then pulled Rose out of the pub and back out into the streets of Hogsmeade. "What do you want to do now?" Scorpius asked, leaving it up to Rose.

"Let's go sit somewhere and just talk," Rose said, taking Scorpius's hand again. He squeezed it as they walked down the street, towards the Shrieking Shack. Ron and Hermione had told Rose about their third year, when they discovered that the "ghost" haunting the Shrieking Shack was really Remus Lupin. Lupin, who was the father of Rose's sort-of god-brother, Teddy, had been dead for quite a while now. The Shrieking Shack had stood silent for years.

Rose and Scorpius found a grassy patch near the fence that separated Hogsmeade from the Shrieking Shack and sat down. They talked for a while, until Rose couldn't resist anymore, and pressed her lips against his in mid-sentence. Scorpius pushed her hair out of her face, and placed a hand on her cheek. She scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around his warm torso. She loved the safety she felt with him.

The safe feeling was ripped away when someone jerked her away from Scorpius and put a bag over her head.

**A/N: Okay I stayed up all night writing this chapter for you. So... If there are a few mistakes, don't hate me. Appreciate that I updated so soon. You could have had to wait until Saturday. :P PLEEEASE review! If you don't, I might just die of sadness. **


	9. Secrets Uncovered

**A/N: Wow, 14 reviews! You guys are fantastic. Thanks so much! :)**

**Note: There was a tweak to Chapter 6 on the level Mrs. Malfoy is found on. :)**

**One of the Boys**

**Chapter Nine – Secrets Uncovered**

Rose screamed loudly, and began thrashing around. She had no idea what was going on, and didn't understand why there was a cloth bag over her head, or why someone was trying to drag her across the ground. "Let go!" she shrieked, kicking her legs wildly, arms flailing. One of her hands found a target.

"Ow!" a familiar voice cried.

"Albus?" Rose asked. The arms released her, and the upper half of her body crashed to the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of her, but she climbed to her feet as soon as she could. She pulled the bag off her head and whipped around to see her cousin holding his arm where she'd hit him, but dissolved in laughter as well. "What is wrong with you? Why would you do that?"

"You should have seen the look on your face," Albus said, doubled over. He had pulled what looked like a ski mask up to his forehead, revealing his face.

Rose looked over at where Scorpius was sitting, a strange look on her face. She sensed a mixture of anger and something else. Rose marched up to Albus and punched him as hard as she could in the arm. "Jerk."

"Hey!" Albus protested, rubbing his arm.

"Oh, no," someone else said. Rose turned to see Brenda hurrying towards them. "Oh, I told him not to do it," she said. "I'm so sorry," she told Rose.

"It's not your fault. No one can control my idiot of a cousin here," Rose muttered. She punched him again for good measure. "What's wrong with you? I should tell Uncle Harry."

"Oh, relax," Albus said. "It was just a joke."

"It wasn't funny," Rose said angrily.

"I thought it was," Albus answered with a grin.

"I didn't." Scorpius appeared at Rose's shoulder. "Never do that again. Pretending to kidnap someone isn't a joke." His voice shook with the anger he was trying to repress. The way he talked made Rose wonder. He was angrier than Rose was, and he and Albus usually had the same sense of humor. They found all the same things funny.

"Sorry," Albus said quietly, realizing, too, how upset Scorpius was.

"Maybe you should go," Rose told her cousin, nudging him. Brenda nodded, and grabbed his hand. She led Albus away, back into Hogsmeade. She turned to Scorpius, who was staring at the ground. "Do you need to talk about it?" she whispered. He shook his head, and turned away to face the Shrieking Shack. "Talk to me. Please," she said, taking both his hands. She looked up at him anxiously, but he wouldn't meet her gaze. "Scorpius."

He let out a long sigh, and dropped one of Rose's hands to run through his hair. He pulled her back over to the patch of grass and sat down. He put his arm around her waist, and Rose snuggled into his chest. "Tell me what you're thinking about."

"I had a sister," he said.

"What?"

She could feel him nod. "She was five years younger. We don't talk about her anymore. Since your uncle defeated Voldemort, the name of Malfoy has been pretty blackened. People don't like my dad just because of our name. Some people treat me like that, too." He paused, gathering his thoughts, then continued speaking. "When I was eight, someone kidnapped her. We still don't know who it was. The Ministry wasn't very willing to help us. By the time we found her-" He broke off, and took a breath. "By the time they found her, she was dead. She was only three years old," he said, voice shaking. Rose knew he was crying, but she didn't take her head from his chest. She wouldn't look at him, because she knew he didn't want her to see.

"Oh, Scorpius," she said softly. She couldn't imagine losing a sibling. If Hugo was murdered, she didn't know what she'd do. "How do you deal with it?"

"I'm horrible," he answered. "I push her away. I pretend she never existed."

"That's not horrible," Rose protested. "Maybe it's easier that way. To let her go."

"Mum gets really depressed every year around Adisa's birthday," he murmured, saying her name for the first time. "That's why she's at St. Mungo's. It was really bad this year. She'd be starting Hogwarts next year. Mum can't handle it sometimes. She gets better throughout the year, and October 2nd gets close, and she falls into a crushing depression. My dad can't get through to her. I think it scares him." After another pause, he added, "It scares me, too."

"She lost her daughter," Rose said. "She can't help it."

"I lost a sister," Scorpius answered.

Rose fell silent, unsure what to say next. Finally, she asked, "If your mum is just depressed, why is she at St. Mungo's?"

"Dad won't take her to a muggle doctor. And the healers take cases like this when they need to. She's never had to be in the hospital before, though."

"Is she alright?"

"They gave her some Anti-Depression potion," Scorpius said. "She should be fine now."

"Wait," Rose said. "You told me she was poisoned."

"I didn't want to tell you the real reason."

"Oh." Rose felt a twinge of hurt, but ignored it.

"Yeah."

"I'm really sorry, Scorpius."

"Don't be," he said, stroking her hair fondly. "You're the only person who knows the truth. I haven't even told Albus. I don't think he'd understand."

Rose pulled away to look Scorpius in the eyes. He was no longer crying, and gave no sign that he had. "Albus may not be the most sensitive person in the world, but I think he'd understand."

"I don't know..."

"Don't tell him until you're ready," Rose said. "But I really think you should. He's your best friend."

"Maybe," Scorpius said.

Rose leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Come on, let's go back to school."

. . .

Scorpius walked Rose back to the Ravenclaw tower. She stood up on her tip toes to kiss him goodnight, when a voice cut through the silence. "Rose!"

Rose let out an aggravated sigh, which amused Scorpius. "Don't laugh at me," she grumbled, whacking him lightly. "What?" she asked Hugo, who was the one that interrupted them.

"I got a letter from Mum and Dad," he said, showing her the rolled up parchment.

"Lovely," she said. "Do you have a point?"

"They wanted me to tell you something," Hugo announced.

"So tell me. I'm kind of busy," she said, motioning to Scorpius, who grinned. Hugo rolled his eyes.

"Read it yourself," he said, shoving the parchment at her.

Rose unrolled the scroll and scanned it until she found her name.

_Tell Rose that we're disappointed she didn't tell us herself. We would like to speak with her about this matter with the Malfoy boy. Tell her to arrange it with Professor McGonagall. We want her to come home for the weekend._

_Love,_

_Mum and Dad_

Rose stared at the letter. They were disappointed in her? Clearly they were mad at her, because they didn't bother to write her her own letter, but made Hugo the messenger. How did they even know that Rose and Scorpius were even dating? It had barely been three days.

"You told them?" Rose demanded, glaring at her brother.

"Wasn't me," Hugo said. "And they didn't say how they found out."

"Who could have told them?" Rose moaned.

"You didn't want them to know?" Scorpius asked, eyebrows raised.

"I was going to tell them!" she said defensively. "But I wanted them to find out from me, not from my cousins."

"You don't know it was one of them," Hugo said.

"How else would have Mum and Dad have found out?" Rose asked. "Like one of the teachers is going to call them up and tell them that Scorpius and I are dating?"

"Professor Longbottom is really good friends with them," Hugo pointed out.

Rose moaned again. "I bet it was him. Some friend he is," she grumbled. "He's spying on us for Mum and Dad."

"That's how they found out about my six detentions last year," Hugo agreed.

"Great," Rose said. "Now I have to go home for the weekend and argue with them."

"Why?" Scorpius asked.

"Because they're going to tell me that they don't want me 'associating with a Malfoy.' I can hear Dad now... 'We were very lenient when we found out you two were friends. But dating him is crossing a line that we can't handle. Draco Malfoy was a bully, and we still don't get along with him. Dating Scorpius is completely out of the question.'"

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "You really think he'll say that?"

"That's what he said when he found out we were friends. I just tweaked the speech a little," Rose explained. She looked at Hugo. "What do you think my chances are?"

"Zero in a million," he answered.

"Thanks for the support," she replied dryly. "You can go now."

"Have fun," he said with a wave before disappearing down the hall.

"He annoys me so much sometimes," Rose said.

"That's what siblings are for," Scorpius said with a laugh. The sad boy Rose had seen less than an hour earlier was gone. He was good at pretending he'd never had a sister. It was almost sad, Rose thought. Scorpius looked down at his watch, and said, "You should go to bed."

"I don't want to," Rose said.

"Do homework."

"Nah."

"Go," Scorpius laughed. He leaned down and kissed Rose lightly. "You have work to make up."

"I don't want you to go," Rose complained.

"If I stay, you won't get anything done."

"I know."

"Go do your homework. You're going to have to convince your parents that I'm a good influence," he said, pushing her towards the knocker on the wall.

"I'm going. Good night," she said.

"Good night."

. . .

Friday rolled around, and Rose started to get nervous again. She had no idea what she was going to say to her parents. She didn't have a plane of defense, to convince them that there was nothing wrong with her dating Scorpius. She was just going to have to wing it. She had gone to see Professor McGonagall the day before. The Headmistress had written back to Rose's parents, giving permission, all the while muttering under her breath about how when they were students, they were only allowed to leave for emergencies, and rules hadn't changed.

"Thanks, Professor," Rose said sadly.

"Are you in trouble or something?" the Headmistress asked, examining Rose over her glasses.

"You could say that," Rose sighed. "I don't know what's going to happen."

"Your mother has a firm head on her shoulders. I'm sure she won't be unfair with you. Your father, on the other hand... Well, good luck, Miss Weasley."

"Thanks," Rose said, before exiting the office.

Now she was in Divination again, worrying about her meeting with her parents more than paying attention. Luckily, Trelawney didn't even seem to notice. She was busy, as usual, blabbering on about how important it was to have a connection with your 'inner eye' and how she herself had a wonderful connection, and predicted that one student in the class would fail an exam the following week.

"We all know who that'll be," Scorpius whispered, meaning Carmen, who wasn't the brightest light bulb of the bunch, but Rose was feeling too stressed to laugh.

The bell rang then, releasing them from class. Down in the hallway, Scorpius rubbed her arms comfortingly. "Everything will go fine. Your parents love you, Rose. And no one can say no to you. You're so passionate about what you want, I doubt your dad will resist for long."

"Yeah, well... You've never met him."

"It'll be fine," he promised.

They had Charms next, a free period, Transfiguration, and another free period before dinner. By the time dinner was over, Rose was a wreck. Truth be told, she had never been in this situation before. She had never done anything to disappoint her parents before. She'd never been in trouble for anything more than taking a cookie without permission or being home ten minutes late. That was always Hugo. Rose was the good one.

Scorpius walked her back to the Ravenclaw tower, and she went straight to bed. She tossed and turned for the longest time, but finally managed to fall asleep. In the morning, she woke up feeling more exhausted than ever. Something told her she'd had some kind of dream, but it was very faint and she couldn't remember it.

Downstairs at breakfast, Scorpius and Albus were both waiting for her. Rose was a little surprised to see her cousin, but gave him a tight hug, both letting him know that she forgave him for his stupid prank and that she was glad he was there for moral support. She ate little, only a piece of toast and a bit of bacon. When she absolutely couldn't eat anything more, she got to her feet. "I guess I should go now."

"It'll all work out," Albus said encouragingly. Scorpius nodded in agreement.

"Come with me," Rose pleaded, looking at her boyfriend.

"How am I suppose to?" he asked. "McGonagall didn't give _me_ permission to leave school."

"And that's going to stop you?" Rose asked.

"The fact that if I walk into her office and try to leave via floo powder then she'll give me detention might."

Rose knew he was right. Then she brightened, saying, "I'll be right back!" She hurried over to the Gryffindor table and scanned it for James. When she found him, she grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him away.

"What do you want?" he asked irritably, adjusting his glasses.

"You have Uncle Harry's invisibility cloak, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "Why?"

"I need to borrow it," Rose said.

"For what?" he asked suspiciously, crossing his arms.

"I want Scorpius to come with me to see my mum and dad, but we need the cloak so McGonagall doesn't know."

"You want me to help you break the rules?" He frowned for a moment, then broke into a grin. "My little cousin wants to be a rule breaker. I'm so proud."

"Oh shut up," Rose said. "Just get the cloak."

. . .

Twenty minutes later, Rose was entering the Headmistress's office, Scorpius following silently. Professor McGonagall got up when Rose came in, and went over to start the fire. "Good morning, Professor," Rose said, smiling.

"Miss Weasley. Enjoy your visit."

"I will. I'm just going to head off to _the Burrow_ now," she said, raising her voice on the name of her grandparent's house.

"Good bye, Miss Weasley," McGonagall said pointedly.

Rose grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped slowly into the fire. It was empty. Hopefully Scorpius had made it to the Burrow. McGonagall hadn't suspected anything. "The Burrow," Rose said, throwing the powder. She closed her eyes, and a few seconds later, tumbled out into the Burrow's kitchen.

It was empty, thankfully. "Scorpius?" Rose asked quietly.

"Right here," he whispered.

Foot steps on the stairs made them both fall silent, and Nana Molly entered the room. "Rose? What in the world are you doing here, dear?"

"Hi Nana," Rose said with a weak smile. "Mum and dad made me come for the weekend."

"Why?" Nana Molly asked, looking confused.

"It's a long story," Rose sighed.

"I've got time," Nana Molly answered with a smile. She tapped the kitchen table and sat down, motioning for Rose to join her. "Tell me what this is about."

Rose, feeling a little awkward because she knew Scorpius was right there, explained about what had happened recently.

"Oh your father," Nana Molly muttered. "So narrow minded sometimes. You go see your parents, dear, and if he tells you to stop seeing the boy, I'll have a word with him."

Rose brightened. "Thanks, Nana!" she said, leaning over to give her grandmother a hug. Even as an adult with his own kids, Ron Weasley still feared his mother's wrath. What normal person wouldn't?

"You'd better get going," Nana Molly said, motioning to the door. Rose and her family lived just over the hill.

"Right," Rose said, getting to her feet. The nervous feeling began to return. It was time to face her parents.

**A/N: So... Thoughts on this chapter? I'd love a review. :) Thank you SO much again to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It was truly a pleasure to read them.**


	10. Ending It

**A/N: So sorry that this has taken me so long to update! -ducks the rotten food- I had no inspiration whatsoever, and I know that's the same old excuse, but it's true! AP classes basically took over my life, and then summer came and I still had no inspiration. But look, I finally found some! So here it is, a year and a day later.**

**One of the Boys**

**Chapter Ten – Ending It**

"I don't want to do this," Rose said, her voice quaking. Her palms were sweating, her stomach was queasy, and her heart was pounding. Right now it didn't matter what her parents said, she was away at school, and they couldn't control her at Hogwarts. But what if – the beating of her heart increased when this thought crossed her mind – she and Scorpius wanted to get married sometime in the future? What would she do then?

"It's okay," Scorpius's voice floated to her ears from somewhere on her left, still hidden in the invisibility cloak. "It's all going to work out, I promise."

"Take the cloak off," Rose said as they reached the top of the hill and could see her house below.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Scorpius asked hesitantly.

"Just take it off," she said, wondering how things would work out if she strolled into the house with Scorpius in tow. Surely they wouldn't be vicious to his face? Hermione wasn't like that, but Rose had no idea what Ron would be provoked to do. She could only hope that her mother would be able to control Ron's anger for him. As the house approached quickly, Rose felt like she'd rather be anywhere else.

"Hey," Scorpius said, grabbing her hand to stop her, a few feet from the kitchen door. Rose turned to face him, and he pulled her into a hug. "Even if your parents disapprove now, they'll understand someday." He kissed her head, and Rose couldn't help noticing that it felt like a goodbye.

"What do you mean?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his middle. She didn't want to let go and enter the house, but wished they could leave now and pretend everything was fine.

"You shouldn't go against what your parents want for you," Scorpius said. "They're the two people who will always love you, no matter what you do."

"Then they'll love me even if I keep dating you," Rose answered.

"It's such a silly thing for you to fight with them about," Scorpius told her. "If they really don't want us dating, maybe you should listen to them."

"Do you _want_ to break up?" Rose demanded, yanking herself free and taking a step back. She pushed her hair out of her face angrily and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Of course not," Scorpius said, looking surprised. "I just think... You have a good relationship with your parents, not anything like I have with mine. I want you to keep it that way, don't take them for granted."

"I'm not taking them for granted," Rose exclaimed.

"You're about to throw away a loving relationship with your father for a boy, and you're not taking that for granted?" Scorpius asked.

Rose sighed. Scorpius did have a point. "Alright," Rose said. "I will try not to take it for granted while I'm talking to my father. But I don't care what he says; I'm not going to stop dating you just because he has some grudge against your dad."

Scorpius looked uncomfortable at her statement, but just nodded his head. "Ready to go in?" he asked, taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Rose sighed, leading the way up the stairs to the kitchen door. Before she let her nerves get the best of her, she opened the door and entered the kitchen, closely followed by Scorpius. Hermione was standing at the sink, filling a pot with water. She turned around at the sound of the door opening and closing, and her brown eyes grew wide as she saw her daughter and Scorpius.

"Rose," she said in a low voice, "why did you bring him along? You're just going to make things worse."

"Mum, you're not being fair!" Rose said. "Neither one of you seem to care about how I feel."

"Of course I care, my love," Hermione said, crossing the kitchen to pull Rose into her arms. She squeezed her daughter tightly, and brought a hand up to stroke Rose's hair. "It's not me that you have to talk to. It's your father."

"Can't you just talk to him for me?" Rose whined, forgetting for a moment that Scorpius was there too, listening to their conversation.

"I've tried, Rosie," Hermione whispered. "He's not listening to me, or your uncle."

"What about Aunt Ginny?" Rose asked, though she knew her aunt had less influence over her brother than Hermione or Harry did.

"Well," Hermione began uncomfortably, "she thinks that you should be allowed to make your own choices, but she isn't overly fond of the idea either. You remember what his grandfather did to her," she added, nodding at Scorpius.

"Mum!" Rose exclaimed, pulling away from her mother. "It's not like it's Scorpius' fault."

"Of course not," Hermione agreed. "I'm just telling you how your father and aunt feel."

"We're going to go talk to him," Rose said.

"That really isn't a good idea, Rose," Hermione said, crossing her arms. "You should know better than to push your father when he's already angry."

Rose opened her mouth to utter an angry retort, but Scorpius interrupted her. "Rose," he said, "Let's go talk, before you say anything to your dad."

"That sounds like a good idea," Hermione said, giving her daughter a little push towards the door. Rose glared at her, but followed Scorpius back out into the garden.

"What?" Rose demanded as soon as the door had swung shut.

Scorpius sighed. "I can't do this."

"Talk to my dad? You don't have to; I can do it on my own. I just thought you'd be a little more supportive," Rose said, glaring again.

"That's not what I mean, Rosie," Scorpius said. "I mean I can't let you do this. You're tearing your family apart for nothing."

"Nothing?" Rose asked. "I'm doing this for _you_."

"But I don't want you to!" Scorpius exclaimed. "Your family is the most important thing in the world. These are the people who will love you all your life, no matter what you do." He was repeating his earlier words.

"Which means they'll love me even if I stay with you!" Rose cried, repeating herself as well.

Scorpius shook his head. "I'm not going to let you do this."

"So, what?" Rose asked. "You're breaking up with me after all?"

Scorpius closed his eyes for a brief moment before saying, "I guess I am."

The words hit Rose like a bag of bricks. Suddenly she couldn't breathe, her brain stopped working, and her whole body felt numb. It took her a few tries to get the words out. "But you just said-"

"I know what I said," Scorpius interrupted, sighing again. "And I meant it. I don't _want_ to break up with you, Rose, but you're being stupid."

"So now I'm stupid?" Rose demanded, her eyes burning with tears that would spill over at any second.

"What you're doing is stupid," Scorpius corrected.

"I'm doing it for you!" Rose repeated, her voice cracking as the tears overflowed and slid quickly down her cheeks before the dripped off her chin and onto her shirt.

"I don't want you to," Scorpius said again. "I still love you."

"No," Rose gasped. "Don't say it. You don't mean it."

"Of course I mean it," Scorpius said.

"If you meant it, you wouldn't be doing this!" she yelled, hugging herself. She could hardly see through her tears, but she just wanted to get away from there. "Just go away, Scorpius."

"Rose-"

"Go away!" she screamed. Rose turned on her heel and ran, through the garden and around the side of the house, throwing herself onto the lawn of their backyard. She was both glad and disappointed that Scorpius didn't follow her. She stopped crying almost immediately, disgusted with herself. She had never acted like this before.

As Rose dried her eyes and sat up in the grass, an almost overwhelming feeling of anger filled her. She was angry at herself, her mother, and Scorpius, but mostly she was angry at her father. This was completely and utterly Ron Weasley's fault. He was the one who had made such a big deal out of the whole thing, and he was the one who had led Scorpius to his decision. Rose got quickly to her feet, and ran to the back door. She stormed inside the house and pounded up the stairs to her father's study, where she knew he would be.

Without even bothering to knock, she burst in, startling him. "I hope you're happy!" she shouted. "Scorpius just dumped me. Is that what you wanted? To see me miserable, to have me lose my boyfriend and my best friend all in one go, just because you and his dad didn't get along in school? Well congratulation, Dad, you got your wish! He left."

To his credit, Ron didn't look happy. He didn't even look angry. It was normal for him and Rose to have near screaming matches when they were angry at one another, but he didn't so much as raise his voice. "That's not what I wanted, Rosie," he said.

"Save it," Rose snapped. "That's _exactly_ what you wanted. You hardly wanted me to be friends with him, let alone date him! You were going to tell me to break up with him or else you'd do something to punish me for it. Guess what, Dad? You don't have to punish me now. Scorpius has already done it for you."

"Rose-"

The anger was still boiling in her blood, and Rose didn't want to listen to anything her father had to say. Instead, she blurted out, "I hate you!"

A shocked expression took over Ron's face, and he stared at Rose for several moments, as if he had no idea what to say. His blue eyes were filled with hurt, and Rose thought she saw unshed tears.

It was as if the anger inside her had been contained inside a balloon, which had suddenly deflated. Rose realized what a horrible, irrevocable thing she had done, and wished desperately that she could take it back. "Dad," she said, her voice shaking. Tears filled her eyes again and spilled over in a salty waterfall. "Dad, I didn't mean it. I was just angry, and I… I don't know why I said it. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

"I know, Rosie," Ron said, holding his arms out. Rose threw herself into them, hugging him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. She repeated "I'm sorry," over and over, while Ron stroked her hair and told her that it was okay.

"It's not okay," Rose said finally, standing up and wiping her eyes for a second time. "It was a horrible thing to say. Stop acting like everything is fine."

"I know you were just angry, Rose," Ron said. "You get your temper from me, you know."

"I bet you never told Nana or Grandpa that you hated them," Rose muttered.

"No, I didn't," Ron admitted. "But I thought it sometimes."

"Really?" Rose asked, surprised.

Ron nodded. "But I didn't mean it, either. They were just trying to do what was best for me."

"Like you're trying to do for me," Rose said softly.

Ron shook his head. "Not this time. This time, I'm being selfish and dragging you into something that happened over twenty years ago."

Rose sighed. "I wish you could have said that earlier. It's too late now."

Ron shook his head. "I'm sorry, too, Rosie. I hope you can forgive me."

Rose felt so guilty for her outburst, she would have agreed to anything. "Of course. I love you, Daddy."

Ron smiled. "You haven't called me that in years." He got to his feet and gathered Rose in another hug. "I love you, too, Rose."

. . .

Rose stayed with her parents for the remainder of the weekend, and went back to school by Floo Powder on Sunday evening. Professor McGonagall gave her a short nod when she slid into the Headmistress' office a few minutes after saying goodbye to her parents. "Welcome back, Miss Weasley."

"Professor," Rose said, nodding as well before she left the office. Just outside the statue of the eagle that guarded the Headmistress' office, Rose leaned against the cool stone wall and sighed. She was lucky that she wasn't in Slytherin, but she could hardly begin to imagine how she was going to survive the next school day. How was she going to stand seeing Scorpius after her dramatic meltdown?

Rose sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a _long_ day.

**A/N: Oh my gosh. It's actually finished. Er, the chapter, that is.**

**So I hope you all enjoyed it, and will forgive me for how long it took to update. I also hope none of you found Rose to be too overdramatic. I thought perhaps I was overdoing it, but when I asked a few different friends, they all said they'd react in a similar manner (to their fathers, that is). **

**So! Leave me a review? I'm not entirely sure what to do with the rest of the story, so **_**if anyone has any ideas for the story, I would love to hear them!**_** You can either leave it in a review or a PM, and I am more than willing to give credit.**

**Thanks so much for reading!**


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